Never Forget
by anj6193
Summary: The heart-pounding sequel to Left Behind! When the Shroobs make an unwelcome visit, the only available choice Luigi and Daisy have is to run and seek help from the neighboring Kingdom. Not only do they have that to deal with, there is suspense, pirates, and an ancient revival scheme. Time is running short; will Luigi and the others be able to stop the revival before it is too late?
1. Chapter 1

Has it really been only a month since I've been home? It seemed like it has been only a day. The experience seemed like it happened years ago. Everything that has happened to me; it seems like a distant memory now. I don't think I've rested enough; I still felt tired and weak, and my chest hurts a lot. I breathed in deeply, and couldn't help to notice the smells of the Star Festival around me. Mainly, I could smell the funnel cakes and I felt my mouth water as a result.

Out of the corner of my eye, I couldn't help but to notice a particular flying yellow mass, carrying what looked like two ice cream cones. I felt a smile on my lips as the mass flew closer to me, trying not to drop one (or both) of the two ice cream cones with his little hands. I stood up, and approached him. I reached my hand out slowly, and a strawberry ice cream cone was put into it along with a few napkins.

"Luma got Mama ice cream, too!" he piped.

"Thank you, Luma." I spoke lightly.

"Strawberry, right?"

I laughed as I took the cone from his tiny hands. I walked back to where I was sitting, and Luma sat next to me on the rim of the fountain in the heart of the Mushroom Kingdom. Watching Luma trying to eat a double scoop of Cookie Dough ice cream was quite entertaining to say the least (counting that it was taller than him). He wasn't sure how he was going to eat it, let alone where to start. I knelt to his height, and held the cone steady for him while he ate from the top of it. He would look at the ice cream, find a cookie dough piece, and only eat that section. I would scold him from time to time, telling him that he had to eat the ice cream and not only the cookie parts. Once it got to the point where he could eat it himself, I let it go and started on my own. By that time, however, it was very runny. I managed however, and Luma scolded me for making a big mess. I smiled and laughed as I cleaned him off (and myself as well) with the napkins.

"Mama?" he chirped after finishing the cone.

"Yes, Luma?" I responded.

"Where everyone go? Luma no see Tall Purple Man or Flower."

"They'll come. They had to do some things first." He sat down again, and turned away from me. I rested a finger on his shoulder "What's wrong?"

"Luma not Star…"

This again…the poor guy only wants to fit in.

I picked him up and held him close to me. "Luma, Mama love Luma just the way Luma is. No more sad, okay?"

"Luma wanna be Star, Mama. Luma can't be." He started to cry.

"Luma is. Luma Mama's Star. Always Mama's Star. Mama's Star forever and ever."

"And ever?" his eyes lit up.

"Uh-huh. Ever and ever and ever."

I dried his tears and kissed the top of his little head before he flew out into the Fair. I watched him chase a few balloons into the sky, and talk to the Toads. I could tell that he was enjoying himself, even though he knew that he wasn't a Star like all the others.

"Luigi," I looked up to see Mario and his Star, "we need to head to the Pavilion."

"We?" I asked. "Why 'we'? I thought you were the only one speaking."

He shook his head. "Haven't you heard what everyone is talking about?"

"…no. Should I?"

"Listen."

He sat down next to me as I closed my eyes, focusing and concentrating. The only things I could hear were the sounds of a fair; nothing too special. I also heard Luma, his cheerful laugh bringing a smile to my face once again. The shouts of joy from the townsfolk were the majority of the sounds.

Then, I heard them. The voices; the voices of the fair were talking. I felt raw fear enter me like never before. Mario noticed my reaction, and held me hand for comfort. I couldn't distinguish all what they were saying, but two names stuck out to me: Mr. L…and Mario. I opened my eyes, and Mario's face was soft and understanding.

"There has been a mistake." He whispered. My vision blurred with tears of rage and frustration. "I am not going to take this one from you, Luigi. L was a master planner; it was practically flawless! No one knew that it was him. I plan…" he fell silent, thinking. He looked at me in the eye with determination a minute later. "No, I can't. I was planning on explaining everything to them at my speech, but I don't want to take this chance from you."

"I appreciate your offer, but I don't think I can…" I whispered.

"Luigi…"

"I can't! I am terrified of the thought! Everyone staring at me… You are the hero because you can talk to a whole crowd of people without breaking a sweat! I don't mind if you take this one from me, Bro. Promise."

He sighed, nodded and left; telling me that I should still head there none the less. I stood up to follow him, and Luma sat on my shoulder, eating what appeared to be the last of a chocolate bar. I rolled my eyes as he offered a bite to me. I took a small piece off, and placed it in my mouth.

Dark chocolate; he knows me too well.

I patted his little head and he sat on my shoulder, continuing to munch away on his candy. Eventually, we caught up with Mario. He smiled a warm smile, but his eyes were uncertain. I knew that he wanted me to speak for myself. I knew that he wanted me to get out of his shadow to make a name for myself.

Suddenly, a hand intertwined mine. I held it gently as I brought it up to my lips, and kissed it lightly. I wrapped my arm around her, and finally took notice of what she was wearing.

"I like the dress, Daisy." I whispered lightly.

"Pretty." Luma cooed cleaning himself off.

"Do you think it is too…well…" she trailed off.

She was wearing a sleeveless, formfitting black formal dress. It reached down to her ankles, and I could see the blood red heels. Her hair was down (probably because it was too short to be pulled up into anything fancy) and pearls accented her neck and ears. What shocked me was that she was wearing more make-up than the usual splash of mascara and eyeliner that she usually does.

"…formal?"

"Flower pretty." Daisy looked at Luma. "Not overdressed. You seen Pretty Girl? Pretty Girl overdressed for Luma."

"I think he got your sense of fashion, Luigi."

"At least he got that." I answered patting his head.

In Luma language, 'Pretty Girl' was Peach.

We got to the Star Pavilion, and we went our separate ways. Mario headed backstage, and Daisy and I went towards our seats. Luma flew off my shoulder to surprise hug an unsuspecting "Tall Purple Man". Rose waved to us as we approached. We sat down next to her and Wendy. Daisy told me that she had to check on something, so after a short kiss on the cheek, she left. So, all in all, I was left by myself with Rose and Wendy (which didn't seem to bother me too much). Wendy went into her 'doctor mode' and asked me how I was feeling and if I was well recovered yet. She told me that the scar would probably crust over and feel tight, and that it will get slightly uncomfortable.

Great.

All of our conversations were cut off when a female voice called everyone to the Star Pavilion. I couldn't hear it quite well, so it was safe to assume it was Princess Peach.

Imagine the shock when I saw Daisy walk on stage instead of Peach.

Everyone had the same amount of shock and confusion as I did. Every year, for as long as I could remember, Peach was the one who ran the Star Festival. Apparently this year was the year of change.

"Welcome, everyone!" Daisy spoke loud and clear into the microphone. "I hope we are all having a good time. So, as you can tell, there are going to be some changes to this year's Star Festival. Unfortunately, we received no new Blessings this year."

My gut dropped.

"Instead, we were all put against a trial of darkness and corruption. Not to mention the confusion that followed along with it. Through this trial, it is hard to admit that the Mushroom Kingdom fell victim to this darkness. We all know the story about Fawful and his plan to control us all, but there is one story that none of us do know.

"How one man, who lived in the shadow of his brother all of his life, finally broke free, and made himself known. Hiding in the most unlikely of places in the worst conditions, he fought the darkness and prevailed. With the aid of the few people who believed in him, a Luma came down, Blessing one of our very own.

"It is my honor and privilege, to open the stage to the man who set us all free, and the man who I believe needs to receive the best of Blessings: Luigi Mario!"

I was actually shocked at how many cheers of happiness erupted from the Pavilion. Luma sat on my shoulder, telling me to go.

"Luma here for Mama." He piped.

I stood up, and made my way towards the stage. This time last year, I was running to save Mario and Peach from Bowser. How much I wished for that again; just having little bursts of glory here and there, but most of it going to Mario.

Once I got to the podium, I received a kiss on the cheek from Daisy, and Luma looked around, his eyes filled with wonder and excitement. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and started the speech that I had been practicing with ever since I got home.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't pull an 'emperor Mario' on everyone and hold my hand up to stop the applause. I waited for it to slow down a tad before speaking. I opened my eyes, and made eye contact with Mario and Peach, who were sitting in the front row. I realized that my previous speech wouldn't fit for this occasion (not to mention that I had forgotten most of it by now), so I took a different approach. Once I started talking, I amazed myself at how confident I sounded.

"I remember, just last year, I was in the audience, wishing I could be just like Mario. I always sat in the front row because, believe it or not, even big, strong heroes like him get stage fright now and then." There was laughter throughout, and Mario smiled at me. "Trust me, I am terrified right now; speaking publicly is not my forte. But, I see my friends in the audience, and they all are giving me the confidence I need to do this; you all are. I've been there; sitting in the audience, thinking and dreaming that one day, I would be up on stage, talking to everyone. Now, I am. And I must say that it is one of the most exciting yet terrifying moments in my entire life."

I felt Luma tug my sleeve, and I stepped back, throwing everyone off guard.

"Hello!" Luma spoke into the microphone. The reaction was lovely for him. "Luma has small story to tell. Luma come from sky, wanting to be Mama's Star. As many see, Luma still a Luma and not a Star. Luma supposed to transform into Star for Mama. Didn't happen. Luma still a Luma. But that okay. Luma happy to be a Luma. Mama said that everyone be sad if Luma become a Star. True?"

The entire Pavilion cheered and whistled for Luma. He sat on my shoulder again, looking at me in worry. I kissed his little head, and he smiled, laughing his little laugh as he sat on my shoulder once again.

"When Mr. L started causing trouble," I started where I had left off, "I knew that I was the only one who could destroy him. With a little help from my friends, and enemies alike, I – no, we - were able to vanquish Mr. L from the lands. It even resulted in Mario and me exchanging a few bloody punches here and there.

"But, like the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom, he was tricked. After his appearance, L had stolen my clothes and act, and pretended to be me. All in all, we became victorious. I know for sure that I couldn't fight this fight on my own. So, to show my thanks, when I call your name, please come up." I grabbed the microphone off of the stand, and carried it with me while Luma fetched a small box. "Doctor Wendy X and Nurse Rosette X."

The Pavilion, once again, filled with life and cheers as both the sisters came on stage. Wendy sent a worried glance towards me. Luma flew over to Rose, and waited for me there.

"Before I start, many of you are curious about their last name. Since they are not form the Mushroom Kingdom area, their last name is very different. It is also quite a mouthful, too. So we all shorten it to the first letter of their last name, which is X.

"Rosette X, or Rose, and I have been friends for a very long time. She was the first of everyone to discover and believe that I was the real Luigi. Thanks to her quick needlework and her lively spirit, I am still alive and breathing today. Thank you, Rose, for everything you have done and so much more."

Everyone clapped as I hugged her with one arm, and Luma handed her a necklace. It was just a silver chain with a Star on it; nothing too special. She thanked me, and the noise died down once again. I turned to Wendy, and sent her a reassuring smile before starting once again.

"Dr. Wendy X; I just met you last year, and already we are as close friends as anyone can get. Thanks to you, I was able to escape the first time from the horrors of my brother's fist." Laughter hummed through the Pavilion, "Also, thanks to your open heart and quick thinking, you were able to not only protect me, but also to warn us of the next possible step L might take. Thank you so much." I handed her a necklace just the same as Rose's. Before the girls stepped off, I told them to wait. The noise died down once again, but it was replaced with confusion.

"I believe that these girls deserve more than a few claps and cheers. Their place of work was not the only thing that they lost." Everyone was silent, and I heard Rose try to stifle a sob, "They've lost so much more. Toad Town's very own Doctor Derik X was not only their father, but he saved my life. I owe him so much: I would not be standing here if it weren't for him. In all the chaos that followed the appearance of Mr. L and me almost dying, I learned that Doctor X was the first, and thankfully, only life that L took away. I feel that we owe Dr. X and his two daughters more than they have received, don't you?"

Everyone in the radius of my voice cheered as loud and hard as they could. It continued for about five minutes. Both girls thanked me, and made their way back to their seats. As the voices died down, I took a deep breath, and made eye contact with Waluigi. He knew what was coming, and he sure as hell didn't like it. I ushered Luma off of me, and he shot towards him, giving Waluigi a hug. Everyone laughed as I called him up to the stage. He walked up to me, skipping all the steps, and handed Luma to me, who was clinging to his arm.

"Tall Purple Man Luma's friend." He purred loud enough that everyone heard him.

"It may alarm you that I asked Waluigi to come up here with me, but I believe that he deserves a lot more credit than what I am giving him. He opened his little apartment of a home to me when I had nowhere else to go and no one to turn to. He did everything that I had asked him to and more. Between him and Wario, they managed to get Bowser on my side to help me fight L. I want to thank you, Waluigi, for everything that you have done, and more."

Luma handed him a manila envelope. He peered into it, and I saw the light in his eyes grow. I smiled, and he surprised me with a hug of his own. As he walked down, I felt the fear tingle though my spine as I nodded at Luma. He sped off the stage, chattering the way he usually does. It took him a few seconds, but he zipped back, nodding to me.

"Finally, I need to thank one more person. Without him, I would have never defeated L, let alone keep my brother from killing me first. Please, show him the same respect as you showed the others." I turned away from the audience, "This is me keeping our promise. Come on out, and please keep your word."

I closed my eyes, and prayed harder than I ever had in my life. All I wanted was this small token of gratitude to go smoothly. It took me most of the month to: persuade, plan, propose and negotiate with him. I opened my eyes, and Luma looked just as scared as I felt. The ground vibrated with every beat. The footfalls grew louder and louder as he approached. I turned around and smiled, sighing in relief in the process.

Even though he came from the wrong side than we agreed on, King Koopa kept his word.

Thank goodness that the microphone was wireless, too. I walked off the stage, and I felt everyone's eyes follow me. I got to Bowser, and I felt the fear within everyone all at once. I held out my hand to him, and he took it lightly, shaking it in the process. Without looking back, I made a hand signal to Luma. He darted off once again.

"I don't think there is any way that I can thank you for all the work that you have done not only for me, but for the good of the Kingdoms. I know we bickered back and forth for a proper payment for your help. I can't give you the Kingdom, but I also can't just walk away without giving you proper acknowledgement. You truly have helped me; your intentions might not have been for the good of the Kingdoms or for me, but you still helped none the less. I believe that this will cover the damages for your castle and your army. Please take it; I won't take no for an answer."

I saw his eyes light up in shock as Luma ushered three crates overflowing with the biggest grapefruit the Kingdom has ever grown.

"This will do just fine, Luigi." He spoke as a few Paratroopas went to carry the crates.

With that, he turned and left. Before he got out of earshot, Luma gave a giant shout of joy and clapped his little hands. Soon, everyone was following his lead. I saw a smile on Bowser as he left the Kingdom. I walked back up to the stage, and waited for everyone to quiet down.

"One more award; sorry that they are so many. Brother?"

The response that he got was just as loud as the response for Doctor X. He walked up the stage, fear in his eyes. I knew that he was afraid that he would take my light from me.

"I know what's going through your head, Mario; you're afraid of taking my moment to shine." He nodded lightly, "Well, you won't. I managed to get this myself, I can sustain it. Your light is much brighter than mine, but it is truly an honor to be on the same ground as you when we aren't trying to murder one another." The laughter was contagious, and Mario snickered a little. His Star flew out, greeting me. "Hello, little one. Mario: shall we?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. I placed the microphone back on the stand, and stood next to my brother. I raised my hands above my head, and Mario smiled.

"I am honored to share your light." He responded as he followed my lead.

Luma flew into the space between my hands, and Mario's Star followed suit. With a peppered laugh from Luma, both the Stars rocketed to the sky, and the eruption of cheers followed them while they bathed the area in their golden light. The fireworks started to go off, and I knew that that was my signal to leave the stage. While everyone was staring in awe at the Stars (others had joined Mario's, and mine returned to me), I slipped into the shadows, making my way home.


	3. Chapter 3

I had a lot of fun speaking in front of the entire Mushroom Kingdom, but it also felt nice just to be back at home where I belong. Being in my brother's shadow is not too bad; a lot of people think that I don't receive enough credit for my work. Well, that is partly true. But to be honest, I don't really mind it. I know that I would get mad and throw a fit about it once in a while, but the limelight is not exactly for me. Maybe it just takes time to get used to the popularity. I know it took a bit for Mario to.

As I dried a plate that I just got done washing, I heard Luma chattering the way he usually does when he is bored and nothing to eat sounded appetizing to him. Even though the dishwasher is fixed, I don't like using it. Yes, it does save a lot of time, but I need that time it takes to wash and dry the dishes to think. It is one of the few times I get to think freely (other than trying to sleep) without a lot of interruptions.

I put the last of the dishes away and turned around to leave. Daisy was sitting at the table, looking at me. I greeted her, and she stood up and kissed me on the nose.

"Where did you go after your speech?" Daisy asked.

She was out of her formal attire, and was now wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans. Her crown was not on her, but a crown-shaped pin on her shirt took its place.

"Home." I responded drying my hands with the black apron around my waist. "I needed to get things done before Mario got home."

"Everyone was looking for you."

"I know. I can't be in the limelight for a long time; it's too uncomfortable for me. That's why Mario is the hero and not me."

"Well, I wanted to let you know that your improvising was excellent. None of that was in the speech you wrote, was it?"

"The awards I gave out were; but nothing else. Luma decided to insert himself, too."

"And Bowser?"

"Like I said in the speech, it took a long time for us to come to an agreement. I'm just glad he cooperated with me."

Daisy opened her mouth to respond, but a laugh cut her off. We both froze, and Luma flew in, looking worried.

"Luma heard that before." He spoke quietly, his entire body trembling with fear. "Where come from?"

I placed a finger on my lips, and the laugh came again. But this time, there were more than one voice laughing. Daisy pulled me down to the ground, hiding us from the view of the windows. Luma hid under my hat and I heard him talking quietly. I felt in my pockets, and fear stabbed me in the gut.

My cell phone was gone.

Daisy pointed at my hat, and I realized that Luma had it. He was talking to someone. We waited a few minutes as the laughter continued. The number of voices increased, and I wanted to cry. I felt the pressure build in my eyes and my face grow hot. I blinked slowly and tightly, fighting my tears. Luma stuck his hand out of my hat, handing me the phone.

"Brother." Luma piped quietly retreating back into the security of my hat.

I wish I could, too.

"Mario?" I asked into the phone. "What's going on?"

"Do me a giant favor." His voice sounded stressed and commanding. I didn't say anything; just waited for his order. "Run. I'll explain everything later; just run like you never have before. Take Daisy with you."

"Mario." I hissed, "I can't. My chest-"

"You must, Luigi." He cut me off. "They're back."

"Who?"

The call ended. I stuffed my phone in my pocket, and explained to Daisy what Mario told me. She nodded, her face going grave. I took the apron off, and Luma went to go check out what was going on. Before he left, I grabbed him.

"No." I told him. "Luma get hurt."

"Luma won't." he retorted, "Luma be okay. Promise."

I tried to keep him close to me, but he glided across the floor, looking around. The laugh happened again, and Luma froze for a few minutes. He moved again, and would freeze for a minute or two every time the laugh occurred. Daisy and I held our breath. It seemed like hours later (it was only about ten minutes) when Luma came back.

"Not good." He spoke lightly, "Purple things."

"Purple things?" Daisy asked, "What do they look like?"

"Purple. Red eyes. Lasers."

"Luma's right," I said, "We need to get out of here, fast. This is not good; really not good. Mario and I have faced these things before, and they are not fun to mess with."

"How do you propose we get out?" Daisy asked.

Laughter. The sound of something charging up filled the void of silence. Luma hid under my hat again, and I heard him crying. I grabbed Daisy's hand, and she held mine. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and reopened them.

"Luma," I asked, "did you see any at the back door?"

"Falling from sky." He sobbed, "After Luma, Mama and Flower. Did Luma do bad?"

Daisy held my hand tighter, and together, we ran for the back door. Once we got out of the house, we let go of each other, and ran as hard and fast as we could. The only thing we had in mind was that we had to get out, no matter the cost.

The world blurred into a mix of colors and sounds as we ran. The sky was no longer blue and clear, but a dark brownish-greenish color filled with clouds and terrors. The laughter continued, and it started to grate on my nerves like a skipping record would. The terrain soon turned as well; it was no longer green, but more of a purple clay color.

We had reached the border. The laughing continued, and I realized with a sick feeling that we were being followed. I turned my head, and noticed that Daisy was not behind me. Luma felt my uneasiness, and charged off in the other direction. I stopped, turned sharply, and sprinted head on to our chasers. My concern for Daisy overpowered my fear of them.

They are terrible creatures of vile. I never liked them. I remember the first day I saw them; I was fairly young, and cried out of fear. Their red eyes scared me so bad…they still scare me! The most horrifying thing is that they are from space; not from our world at all. No one knows what they were up to and why they came. The issue is that they are back; and that is one of the most terrifying thoughts in the world. I sprinted towards Luma's light, and he was doing everything he could to fight them off. Well, he was more dodging them than anything else. I could tell that he was trying to be strong and not cry (good for him) while their claws reached out for him.

Even though the terrain didn't look like it, there were green vines everywhere. Some of them held the pesky little monsters while other hit them with such force they went crashing back into their own armies. I tapped the flame within me, and started casting fire spells. Their screams filled the void, and it was the most terrifying thing. I never like hurting things; let alone burning anything alive. But this was different. These creatures of nightmares were after something or someone, and there was no stopping their mission. Even when Mario and I destroyed their leader, they still fought. Maybe this was to avenge their Queen's death?

Luma started glowing again, and he flew towards me. I opened my arms to him, and he used Invincibility. My body soon began to glow, and I felt a surge of power through me. I shouted at Daisy to move, and all the tentacles of leaves and vine stopped moving, holding some of them. I ran through the maze of vines, making sure to destroy the vermin in the process. Their screams weren't as petrifying as they were when they were burning, but it was still not pleasant. Once it wore out, Luma reappeared, sitting on the top of my hat. He mustered enough energy to get under it, and I knew he was out. I tapped my energy again, and the fear and frustration within me caused my power to shock instead of warm. Unlike the last time, this didn't scare me; I knew what was going on. Daisy did, too. She stepped back, letting go of all the monsters. They all chased after me like starving children would a crumb of bread. I raised one hand above my head, shouted something even I couldn't recognize, and a great bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, not only hitting the ship they were coming from, but also hitting me. The lightning used me as a beacon, and it split into different directions like spiders scattering. The electricity slithered across the ground, shocking (and killing) everything in its path. It left Daisy alone, but managed to shock a monster from behind her.

I let my arm fall to my side, and I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself down. I reopened my eyes, and Daisy had her hand extended out to me, palm towards me. I knew that she wasn't offering me to take her hand, so I lifted an eyebrow. I felt vines creep up my ankles, and I knew that she was just trying to help me. I smiled warmly, and continued to breathe deeply. Unfortunately, my throat began to tickle, and I coughed deep-throated coughs instead. Memories of the last time I had deep coughing like this flashed through my mind, and I began to shiver in fear. The vines continued up my arms (I had my hands on my knees at this point), and I could smell fresh roses. I took slow, deep breaths, and the coughing soon subsided. My eyes burned from not blinking for a long time and my coughing so hard. The vines crept down and went back into the purple soil, and I stood up fully.

I lifted my hat, took Luma with one hand, and held him close to me while I put my hat back on. I cradled him like a mother would her sleeping baby (only using one arm, though) and felt myself humming lightly. He opened his little eyes slowly and sleepily, and yawned a great yawn as he floated a couple of inches from my hand. He was fighting to stay awake. I smiled lightly, and told him that the purple things were gone, and that he could go back to sleep. He nodded, said something that sounded like 'night Mama' and went back to sleep in my hat.

Daisy extended her hand, this time in offer. I took it lightly, and we walked at a fast pace. The shadow of a nearby castle cascaded over us, and I felt a smile touch the corners of my mouth.

Of all the places we could have run to…it was here.


	4. Chapter 4

The land soon returned to the happy state that I remembered, but it was different at the same time. A sense of familiarity filled me, but I could sense the fear lingering around us. Even without looking at her, I could tell that Daisy was still scared and concerned for our home that we had left. But she is a strong girl; she wouldn't let a small thing like that worry her too much. The Mushroom Kingdom had Mario, and that alone reassured her (as well as me). We were safe, and that was the only thing that mattered.

Now, don't get me wrong; we were both scared for our home and the life that we had to leave, but that didn't make us cry openly in fear (okay, maybe me a bit). The reason the fear polluted the air the way it did was that Daisy and Luma had no idea where they were. Fortunately for me, I knew where we were; and where we were going. I took hold of her hand again, and she held mine back. When she is unfamiliar with a situation or a place, she isn't herself. (Aren't all people like that?) She is still filled with life, but she doesn't show it until she is comfortable with it.

Something that resembled a Koopa skittered across our path, and I heard a small shout of shock from Luma, who was looking at the strange new world from the security of my hat. The path soon became paved, and I headed towards the direction of the castle. Daisy, however, was not too keen on the idea. She stopped moving, so I had to stop because she was holding my arm (we had locked our arms by this time). The fear and the determination in her eyes told me so.

"Trust me," I spoke lightly, "I know what I am doing."

"Do you?" she asked not-so-kindly.

Well, she is getting more comfortable with her surroundings. Her question sounded more like a threat than anything else.

"Mama," Luma flew out of my hat, "where is Luma?

"…right here." Daisy answered confused.

"Here? Where here?"

"Luma is in a different Kingdom." I answered lightly trying to calm both of them down. "Mama knows his way around here. Based on what I have already seen, not much has changed from when I was last here. Mario and I are good friends with the Royal Family of this Kingdom. They'll help us; I know it."

They both nodded, believing the confidence in my voice. I just wish that I could believe it myself. I know that they will help us; but the thing I am uncertain about is how _much_ help that they are going to give us. As we continued forward, we got into the market place. The people of the town greeted me; they didn't remember my name, but they recognized me from when Mario and I were last here. They mainly waved and said hello.

We got to the entrance of the castle, and when the guards saw me, they addressed me as 'the green one' and stepped aside. Well, it is better than the nickname green 'stache that Bowser so kindly gave me. Before we entered, I turned to one of the guards, and asked for the location of the Prince.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked me.

"No, but he knows me. We need the help of the Royal Family. Besides, he will be happy to see me."

"The Royal Family is currently in a meeting. It will possibly take all evening. How soon do you need the family, or the Prince?"

"As soon as possible. It is vital."

"If you go around the back, I'm sure you will find His Majesty there."

I nodded, thanking her, and we made our way through the castle. I was a little confused at the thought of a woman being a guard, but I remembered that we were not in the Mushroom Kingdom anymore, and that made a little more sense to me. The Castle wasn't as decorated as the one in Mushroom Kingdom, however. Carpets still hung from the ceilings, telling the story of how this Kingdom came to be, but that was about it.

"Daisy, I need you to do me a favor." I whispered to her. She looked at me in concern. "Whatever you do, please don't get angry with the Prince. He has some…well you'll see. Just know that I love you."

Confused, she nodded as I kissed her cheek.

We got to the garden in the back, and I couldn't help but to snicker as I saw that the entire garden was decked out with yellow roses. Luma flew out of my hat, and looked around. Within the mass of roses, there was a small clearing. This clearing had a very detailed fountain flowing softly. Sitting on the lip of the fountain with a rose in his hand was the Prince. I told Daisy and Luma to stay there, and I crept trough the roses towards him. Every once in a while, he would look up at the sky, anger filling his eyes. Once I was close, he stood up fully. I saw the determination and anger in his eyes. His right hand twitched, and I knew I had to make a move before he did. I pulled a rose from a nearby bush. Gently, I tossed it towards him. It landed gracefully in front of his feet. His face read confusion as he looked at the rose now in front of him. Hesitantly, he picked it up.

"Yes, I think a rose matches your green perfectly." I stated as he spun around, his right hand on his sword. His eyes changed from anger to a sense of happiness, relief and familiarity. "Prince Peasley, we need your help, if you are willing to hear us out."

He nodded the sadness and anger filling his eyes once again. I ushered him to sit down. He did, and I brought up Daisy and Luma. After the short introduction, Daisy and I explained what had happened to the Mushroom Kingdom, and why we ran.

"Describe these things to me; the ones that came from the sky." He spoke lightly.

I hinted that he was not himself; it was apparent in his eyes as well has his tone.

"Purple." Luma chirped. "Red eyes. Lasers."

"Instead of hands, they have claws." Daisy added.

Peasley shook his head. "I don't see how I could be of any help to you." he sighed. "My family has problems of their own. What has happened to the Mushroom Kingdom is a speck of dust compared to what almost happened to the Beanbean Kingdom. I am sorry, Luigi; you came all this way and I cannot help you. You and the Princess are more than welcome to stay however."

"Purple Things here." Luma spoke. The tone of Luma's voice scared me. "Purple Things here. Threaten everyone, not only home. Here, too. Luma sense Purple Things. Where?"

"Prince Peasley, I think Luma is on to something." Daisy spoke lightly, "May I ask what the meeting is about?"

"You may ask, but I can't answer for you." he responded.

"Does it have to do with the Shroobs?" I asked.

The fear in his eyes will be something I will never forget. He nodded.

"How do you know of them?" he asked.

I explained how Mario and I went into the past to rescue Princess Peach, and we got reunited with our younger selves. I also explained the trials and terrors that followed. Everything from Princess Shroob disguising as Peach to the final battle with the elder Princess; even how it was Baby Luigi's tears that got rid of them for good. Or we all thought anyways.

"So it was baby's tears that got rid of them?" he asked in either lack of interest or lost faith (I couldn't tell).

"They may be immune to it now, Peasley." Daisy was getting more comfortable around him. "Though it is a wonder to me how they got back here. Both their Queens are dead…aren't they?"

Silence filled the void. Peasley stood up, told us to stay there, and left without another word. The night air was still, and it felt nice to not be scared for a little while. Daisy and I made small talk, and Luma went exploring around the garden. Peasley soon came back. This time he wasn't alone. It looked like he was pushing some sort of cart. As he got closer, I couldn't help but recognize the tint of red. Luma cried out in fear, and hid behind me. Unlike the other ones we fought earlier, this one's body was red (like its eyes). The thing roared, and Peasley was thrown back as it broke free from the case. Luma cried again, and Daisy had the entire garden at her command. I knew that I had to fight, but I couldn't use fire. Since his skin was red, I knew that he had a fire ability within him. If I used any fire spells on this Shroob, I would end up healing it instead of hurting it.

"I need a reason to be either mad or pissed off." I spoke under my breath.

Peasley stood up again, sword in hand. His face read anger; more anger than I have ever seen. The Prince was usually a composed figure and he has never, never…never shown his expressions before. That terrified me.

"You monster." Peasley hissed. "Why? Why are you here? Why did you do this?!" The thing roared at Peasley, its breath causing his hair to fly. "You vile creature. Be gone!"

Peasley charged, and Daisy attacked. I stepped back, getting out of the way. The thing roared again; this time it was more deep and filling. It put everything to a dead stop. A couple of seconds passed, and laughter of the other Shroobs followed shortly after. I closed my eyes, allowing their laughter to anger and frustrate me. I opened my eyes again, and Daisy acted. She grabbed Peasley and they both got on top of the lip of the fountain. Luma followed them, clinging to Daisy's arm in fear as he cried.

The red Shroob growled at me, and starting scraping his feet like a bull would before he charged. I looked up, and a Shroob Ship was floating above me. Lovely; just in time. The red one screamed, and I heard it charge after me. I heard Peasley yell at me that I was an idiot (I paraphrased that in the nicest way possible) when I raised my hand towards the sky, palm up. I screamed the same thing as last time, and the streak of lightning that followed was just as bright. The Ship lost control and it crashed behind me, bursting into flames in the process. The red Shroob was on its side, its leg twitching once in a while. I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing.

Nothing happened. I was still angry. I rested my hands on my knees, and tried to concentrate on my breathing and my breathing only. I stayed like this for a couple of minutes, but I still felt as irritable. Actually, I felt more irritated because I couldn't calm down and that frustrated me even more. Finally, I knew that there would be no other way to calm myself down. I sat down on the ground with my legs crossed and my hands folded in one another. I leaned my face against my hands as I took a deep breath, the powerful scent of lilac filling me. Slowly, slowly, I took another breath, allowing the scent to calm me down. I opened my eyes, and tried to move my arms to no avail. The vines had wrapped themselves around me.

"I am now a plant. Lovely." I said sarcastically as the vines uncurled themselves. I stood up, and Daisy held me. "I'm okay now. Thanks."

Peasley's face was priceless. I burst out laughing. As I was laughing, I was glad to see a smile on his face.

"Luigi," I managed to calm down to listen to Peasley, "We are in need of your aid. The Shroobs are threatening to destroy our peaceful home to make it their home. I believe that they intend to enslave all of us, like they did to the Mu-"

He cut himself off. He placed his hands over his own mouth, but the deed and damage was already done. I felt the fear grow within me like the Dark Seed did to me months ago. Luma sat down on my shoulder, unsure of what to do. The silence was deafening.

"…did anyone…?" I was struck speechless.

"No. No one is dead." Peasley reassured us.

"…escape." I managed to croak out.

"Oh? Escape? A small handful of people did, minus you, the Princess and a Luma. Before you get your hopes up, Luigi, your brother got captured and is under the strictest of watch. According to the details we managed to get: two men, two women, one Royal Family member and a Luma escaped. You guys are the only ones I have seen. Our Kingdom will keep their doors open until all of you are grouped up again; that much I can promise you."

I don't blame myself for my frustrated tears. Before I collapsed onto the ground, both Daisy and Peasley caught me. I sobbed openly for the first time in a month.


	5. Chapter 5

Even though my outburst was short, it was very effective. I felt better and I had to compose myself quickly as Luma began to cry out of fear. Despite the thought of my brother in danger, I had to be strong for him. I held the little guy close to my chest, and was swaying back and forth. I was sitting on the side of one of the two beds in the spare bedroom Peasley got for us. Due to my strong objection, I wouldn't allow Daisy to have her own room; I didn't want to risk losing her. We bickered back and forth like an old couple, but my reasoning won, and she took the other bed on the other side of the room in a huff. A couple of minutes passed, and Daisy was rearranging things in the room, giving it a more 'home' feeling for her. Peasley was sitting in a chair across from me, his eyes cast towards the ground, in deep thought.

As Luma's cries softened, he asked if I could sing for him. I stopped swaying and looked at him. His little beady eyes were filled with tears. I shook my head, telling him that Mama doesn't sing, but hums. He asked for that, so I hummed the lullaby my mother used to sing to Mario and me when we were younger. Daisy stopped moving things, and leaned against the door frame, listening. Peasley looked up at me. Luma finally fell fast asleep in my arms, and I ended the song. I took off my hat, set Luma in it and set both on them on a pillow. I kissed his little head and turned out the big light. The only light in the room now was a few candles on the desk and end table as well as the moonlight through the window. I rested my hand on top of the little guy, and he purred in his sleep, knowing that his Mama was there with him.

I don't really know why my eyes were watering up; I didn't notice until I watched a tear fall on my hand that Luma was holding. I closed my eyes, allowing my tears to flow, and tilted my head down as I sent a silent prayer to whoever would hear me out. I prayed for strength to get through the trials that lie ahead and for a better world for my Luma to grow up in.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up, and Daisy brushed my tears away. She held my hand, and said that I didn't have to worry; that she would take care of Luma if I fall to something terrible. I nodded, thanking her.

"You two need to know something," Peasley whispered, "…it will help me if you knew."

I faced him, and noticed that there were tears of his own.

"Crying is my job." I spoke lightly. He smiled, trying to suppress a laugh, "What is it that you want us to know?"

"How soft do I have to talk to not wake him up?"

"Don't worry about him."

Peasley took a deep breath; it was shaky as he tried to calm himself down. "I had no intention of attacking you two when I brought out that…thing. I'm sorry for that."

Daisy and I nodded, accepting his apology and telling him to continue. He pulled out a photo from his pocket and handed it to us. The photo was of the younger Princess Shroob, laughing in the crazy way that she used to years ago. The memory crept through me, and I tried to shrug it off. At the bottom of the photo, in very fine print, was writing. Unfortunately it was not in our language, so Daisy and I had no any idea what it said.

"We translated what she wrote." Peasley continued. "It reads: 'She will return'. We have no idea who 'she' is, and we don't want to know. I know you mentioned that you and Mario fought her, but we believe we know how she got back." He handed us another photo. "Do you know him?"

My gut dropped a thousand miles as I saw that sickening grin. I refused to hold the photo when Daisy handed it to me, so she returned it to Peasley.

"As you know, Luigi, we had quite a bit of trouble with him the last time we met."

"I had more trouble with him just last month." I mumbled trying not to get sick with fear.

"He was with the Shroob Princess when they came this morning. He was the translator."

"I bet it was still confusing." Daisy added a hint of fear within her voice.

Peasley nodded, "Anyways, she had this strong speech, saying that her goal was to conquer both the Kingdoms and use its inhabitants as slaves. As far as I can tell, they have a good hold of the Mushroom Kingdom; I'm sure the citizens have fallen by now."

"But Mario…" I whispered feeling dizzy.

"Luigi," we made eye contact, "there were too many for him to handle. He was easily outnumbered." He paused, waiting for me to retort. I took in a sharp breath to start it, but he continued, "In the Princess's speech, she explained how she overwhelmed him."

I fell silent. The pain in my gut told me the worst.

"Peach…" Daisy whispered.

Peasley nodded, "She threatened her life if Mario didn't surrendered. He submitted, knowing deep in his heart that he didn't fail. He managed to warn us of the few escapees before he fell victim. Unfortunately, they heard him, too. So they set off on a mad chase for them. Rumor has it that the other Princess escaped in a flash of light."

I managed to snicker even though I felt sick. I closed my eyes, but it made my head hurt worse and my gut twist and turn into the pit of misery that was growing within me. I didn't know I was swaying until Peasley had to hold me still. I breathed slowly, trying whatever I could to get the feeling to go away.

"Put on a mask." Daisy cautioned. "Luma's awake."

Luma got in between Peasley and me. He looked into my eyes, and knew something was amiss. He nuzzled in the crook of my neck.

"Mama smart." He cooed. "Mama figure this out, Luma knows."

The sick feeling started to die out as Luma comforted me. He talked to me in his little voice, saying how Mama knows right, and that Mama will fix everything just like last time.

"Luma." The little guy turned his attention to Peasley. "Could you do me a favor?" he nodded. "Out there is the garden. Could you fly out there, and find the prettiest rose for Mama?"

The little guy zoomed off, saying he would. Peasley faced us. I didn't notice that his hands were trembling until Daisy reached out and held them.

"I must apologize, Luigi, for not being myself lately. There is one more thing that I need to say. I sent Luma out so he wouldn't hear."

"You better say it fast." I responded lightly, "Luma doesn't take long when it comes to flowers; he knows his Mama too well."

"I don't want to go into too much detail; it is still too hard for me to bear. After Princess Shroob left, she snapped her…claws, I guess you would call them that, and that red thing burst through the doors. He wreaked havoc throughout the castle in a fury. I tried to stop him, but it was no use. He was sent to assassinate my mother. She was gravely wounded in the attack." As he continued talking, I held him. He began to sob in my arms, "There was nothing I could do; no one can save her now. The wounds are too deep to just be healed. It is too late. She is suffering. I'm to succeed her as King, but I cannot take the Kingdom yet; not when _they_ are out and about. I just can't do it. How am I to be the hero of my home when I cannot even save my own mother?"

I held him as the rest of his words were lost in his sobs. Luma flew back in, carrying three roses. He set them down by Daisy, and tapped Peasley on the shoulder.

"Mr. Princely Bean Man," Peasley laughed as he faced Luma, "Luma thinks Queenie wants to see him. Bring Mama, Flower and roses. Queenie not doing well, Luma knows. Queenie crying; wants Prince. When Mama cries, Mama wants Luma. So, Queenie wants Prince. Go."

Peasley stood up, and gently pushed Luma aside. He flew to me, and sat on my shoulder.

"If you wish to see her, I'm sure she would allow it. I think she would want to, since you are the ones who killed the thing that tried to kill her."

Daisy grabbed the roses and put them in a small vase. I stood up, with Luma still on my shoulder. All three of us went down the hallway. The guards saluted Peasley as we passed. Once we got to the Queen's door, he knocked lightly. He told us to wait, and went inside. A couple of minutes later, he called out to us, saying that we could enter.


	6. Chapter 6

There were three chairs next to the bed. Peasley was sitting in one of them already. He was holding his mother's hand to his face, trying to soothe her as much as he could without speaking. The Queen had lost a ton of weight from when I last saw her. She was covered in bloody bandages around her arms, legs, one on her head and a thick one across her waist. There were fresh bandages and water on the end table next to Peasley. He stood up, and warned us that he was going to change the bandage across her waist. He also warned us that it was the worst one. Daisy turned around (the sight of excessive blood doesn't settle with her very well) and held a small chat with Luma. I asked if I could help out any, but the Prince politely declined my offer.

Slowly, Peasley removed the bandages, and I finally saw how extreme it was. I looked at the Queen, telling her to look at me instead of the wound. She obeyed, and we had a small chat of our own as the bandage was removed. According to what I gathered from it, there are no doctors that know how to treat her horrible wound. An idea started to form in my head, and I smiled lightly. The smile, unfortunately, portrayed a different message to the Queen, who did not look too pleased after my smile. I pulled a chair onto the other side of the bed, and sat down in it. I told the Queen about my close-to-death experience that I had experienced last year involving the Dark Seed and Fawful.

"How did you live?" she asked as Peasley cleaned the wound.

"Sorry…" He apologized as she winced in pain.

"One of my friends," I continued, "Nurse Rosette, stitched my wound right after. I'm sure she did a lot more; painkillers and whatnot, but I was out for the entire next morning. I am still healing; I haven't gotten enough rest in order for it to heal properly as it should."

I knew what was going to be her next question, so I took my hat and gloves off. I slowly removed my shirt, and the hideous scar was brought into the limelight. It started right under the nape of my neck and ended a little past my breasts. It was a messy, vertical, red scab. It had started healing, and the area around it was a pale pink where the new skin started forming. The black stitches Wendy had redone were still there (I had it stitched again a couple of days after I got home for good measure) in horizontal lines of different lengths. I put my shirt back on along with the rest of my attire.

"The stitches are neater than when it originally happened. Rosette's older sister, Toad Town's Doctor Wendy X, redid the stitches for me when I wasn't dying. If those two are the ones that escaped, I'm sure that they will help you. It will definitely be in Rosette's nature to."

"Aren't they the daughters of Derik X?"

I nodded. "L killed him instantly, however. Wendy is to succeed him."

"Those poor dears…"

"Daisy," Peasley spoke lightly, "I am done, so you can face her now."

"You might as well clean the other bandages." She responded politely even though her back was turned, "I don't want to risk it."

"My other wounds are fine." The Queen retorted. Daisy faced her now, her face pale. "Do you need to sit down?"

I sat her on my lap, and Peasley handed her a glass of water. She took it, thanking him, and slowly drank it. I think she felt my fear engulf me as my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was shock at first, but it turned to fear as I saw the caller ID read Mario's name. Peasley nodded at me, and I answered the call, putting it on speakerphone at the same time. I placed it next to my ear, like a normal call. Tentatively, I spoke.

"Luigi…?" his voice crackled. I didn't answer. "Are you safe?"

"I am." I answered.

"Is Daisy with you?"

I didn't answer. I didn't want to put anyone at risk.

"…are they with you?" I asked after a few moments, "…The Shroobs, I mean."

Their laughter answered my question.

"Is she with you?" he asked again. I stayed silent. "Luigi, please."

"Even though I am not there, I know that you are threatened. I know your mission is to find her location, so that they can take her away and enslave her. Or worse; I don't want to know what they have planned. Yes, she is safe as well, but I will say nothing more. I am not as stupid as I am cowardly, thank you very much."

Silence. The only sound was Mario's breathing. There was rustling of some sort, and the voice I heard next was definitely not Mario.

"Where…are…you?" it hissed at me.

I stayed dead silent. I knew the voice from the long past. The hesitation of the voice also told me that she was still learning our language. No one answered; I held my breath (I think everyone else was too) as the time passed.

A few minutes passed, and a terrible cry shattered the silence, following the maniacal laughter of the Shroobs. The scream was female. It had to be Peach, no doubt about it.

"Come to us." She spoke again. This time she didn't struggle. "Bring her and you will be spared. Run or avoid…"

Another scream was the last thing we heard before the call ended.

"What do now, Mama?" Luma asked his little voice wavering as he tried not to cry.

Another idea formed in my head. Regardless of how hard it will be to pull off, I started forming the idea into a complex plan. I nodded, thinking that this was the only way that it would work.

"She obviously knows that Daisy is with me." I stated. "So, why not do what the Princess asks? It seems to be the only reasonable thing."

I'm glad Peasley understood the look in my eyes. He nodded, agreeing as he smirked along with me.


	7. Chapter 7

After Daisy and Luma were sound asleep, Peasley and I sat just outside of the doorway. I explained everything to him about my idea and proposed a plan. At first, he called me an asshole (how nice of him) and explained in complex details and vocabulary how it would not work. It took a little time, but I managed to persuade him otherwise. Finally feeling happy with my idea, he nodded. He still felt that there was one major flaw, and that there would be no way to fix it or make it look like it was meant to be there or happen. Suddenly, he smiled.

Did I mention that when ever he smiles or flips his hair, there is a bright light the blinds the hell out of everyone and everything within its range? After blinking a few times, I noticed that he used his smile to escape.

Smart.

He came back, stating that he found the solution to our predicament. He tossed me a box, saying some sexual joke under his breath. I glared at him, and looked inside. I felt the heat in my cheeks rise as Peasley laughed.

"Do I want to know what this is used for?" I asked.

"You'll find out in good time." He responded laughing harder.

After the discussion and the planning, we both went our separate ways. Peasley went to work on the plan, mentioning something about how there is not enough to pull it off. I went to bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Lord knows I need all the rest, courage and sanity to pull this one off. I have done crazy things before; one of them was similar. That's where the inspiration came from.

Tomorrow will be quite the adventure.

* * *

I took a deep breath, and gained the courage to look in the mirror for the first time. Peasley chuckled at my mortified expression.

"Well?" he asked, "How do you feel?"

"…extremely exposed." I turned to him, "I thought I would be…well…not a seductive."

"The issue, as I explained earlier, is that we would have no way of hiding your lovely mustache. And besides, isn't this easier to get out of?"

"I'm just going to ignore that last question."

A laugh escaped his throat, "Are you ready to take on the world? Let's show them who they are messing with!"

I can't wait to see the reactions…Poor, poor Daisy.

You know the man next to you is either a gay or a transvestite when he knows how to walk in heels. I could manage it on my own (from last time), but Peasley felt the need to help. At the end of the short lesson, he handed me a piece of red cloth to tie around the lower part of my face. As I tied it on, covering my nose, mouth and mustache, I stepped out of the Master Bathroom to get an approval from the Queen. She laughed, stating that she couldn't even recognize me; let alone know that I was male.

So far so good.

I had a short conversation with her, building Daisy's personality. I have had so much practice acting as L that it was easy to act again. After knowing Daisy for a long time, I got her voice down easily (and her temper). When the Queen dismissed me, I had one more task to face before the real thing: The Princess of Sarasaland herself.

I took a deep breath, gathering courage within me. The issue with this one is that Daisy has no idea about this plan that I had whipped up. I called out to her, stating that we needed to talk. She said that she had time, but I had to come down the stairs. Taking another deep breath and sending a silent prayer, I walked down the stairs. The sound of heels clicking against the marble stairs threw her off, and she turned around.

The horror on her face fairly resembled to mine when I first saw myself.

"Luigi…?" she asked concerned.

"No." I responded. Her face read shock and confusion as I mimicked her voice. "I'm Princess Daisy."

"Why are you trying to be me?"

"Are you calling me a fake?" I brushed some hair behind my ears, exposing diamond stud earrings (yes, Peasley went as far as earrings. They hurt like a bitch to get pierced, too). "There can only be one Daisy, and that's me."

"What are you doing?" she was getting frustrated.

"Well, Luigi was concerned about me with the threat of surrendering me to the Shroobs. He didn't want to give me up. I'm his Little Flower." Daisy smiled at this. "So, he and Peasley got together and made this plan. The plan was that Luigi would disguise as me dressed in Gypsy-Beanbean attire, and surrender himself to them, claiming that he is me. From there, he would gather as much information as he could, and somehow escape."

"How are you exactly escaping?"

"…I haven't gotten that far." I broke character. "Improvising the ending, I guess. I have to do what needs to be done. I can find out how the Mushroom Kingdom is being enslaved, too."

"Well, you sound like me. So I guess there is no way for me to say no, is there?"

"I even got my ears pierced for this. They still hurt."

She kissed me on the cheek, telling me to be careful. Peasley came through the door, asking if I was ready to leave. I nodded, and he grabbed his flying bean. I sat on one side of it and him the other. After double and triple checking everything, we both headed out into the autumn evening.

Thanks to the flight, it didn't take nearly as long to get to the Mushroom Kingdom as it did when Daisy and I walked (well, mostly ran) to the Beanbean Kingdom. We landed in front of the Mushroom Kingdom castle, and I felt the fear within me. Peasley placed a reassuring hand on me. Luma flew out of Peasley's cape and hugged me, telling me that Luma loved Mama and that Mama was brave. I smiled from under my veil, and told him that Mama loves him back. He hid behind him again as we lowered towards the ground. I landed with ease, still a bit shaken at the thought that my plan won't work.

It had to. We have no other choice.

The introductions went well, and the Shroob guards took me in without a second glance or thought. I smacked one upside the head because it was trying to hold me.

"I am capable of walking by myself, thank you." I snapped as Daisy.

They looked at each other, shrugged, and walked beside me, pointing lasers at me. I managed to catch a glimpse of Peasley, who sent me a reassuring smile before he flew off.

The interior of the Castle had been changed in the most drastic way. The scenery of drifting through the clouds was no longer there; it was replaced by ordinate carpets from their homeland and the paint now a deep purple color. The shade of purple was similar to Waluigi's shirt, but I think the walls were a deeper color. Doesn't matter; I was doing anything I can to avoid their eye contact. Anything to avoid those eyes…

Anyways, we go to what I assume is the prison chambers, since I could point out people I knew. As we passed them, someone gave a low cat whistle. I ignored them, rolling my eyes. The farther back we got; the darker it became. It soon got to the point where I couldn't see anything. A couple of seconds passed, and the tunnel we were walking through lit up with torch light. We made our way through the tunnel until we got to the opening.

I was horrified to find out what the Throne Room looked like. It looked fairly the same, but the issue was that there were Shroobs…hundreds of them…lining the walkway that led to the Throne itself. As we made our way up, Princess Shroob stood up as well, and walking towards me. We met about halfway. She looked me over, making are I was really Daisy.

This was the real test. No going back.

As she circled me, some of the other Shroobs circled around me as well. One of them reached their claws towards me.

"Back off!" I hissed under my breath as I smacked the hand (claw?) away from me.

"Take her to cell 258," the Princess spoke. "Princess Daisy; I'm sure you will find your dwelling most…dignified."

The two guards knew better than to try to touch me again (man, they learn fast), so they gestured me to follow them. One was in front of me and the second was behind me. We walked for a bit, until we got out of sight of the Throne Room. Suddenly, to their shock, I swung my leg back, kicking the Shroob in the face with my heel. He went flying backwards, crashing into the wall. The one in front of me pulled out his laser, and I smacked him in the head.

All I have to say is thank the lord for stiletto heels.

* * *

_There is an Art Feature for this Chapter. You can find the link on my profile :)_


	8. Chapter 8

I had one shoe in each hand, running though the corridor. Only once I was far enough away from the Throne Room did I slow down. I slowed to a gentle jog, then a passing walk. I only had to stop a few times to hide from the Shroobs. Eventually, I found the door with the numbers 258 scratched into it. I pressed my ear against the door, and knocked lightly. I heard feet walking towards me, so I swiveled around the corner.

The Shroob that answered the door met his fate under the hand of a transvestite with a stiletto heel as a weapon. Two more met the same fate, as they charged out to see what happened. I waited a few seconds, and then slowly started made my way through the door.

"Wait!" a voice hissed at me. I stepped back into the shadows.

I waited for a couple of seconds, and I heard a small alarm go off. More footsteps charged through the room, and I soon saw their shadows. Two shadows grabbed someone (I assume it is the person who warned me) and the third one tentatively stepped out of the door. He caught both my wrists when I tried to hit him.

But he didn't expect to get smashed in the head with the tiara that was firmly pinned to the top of my head. He didn't let go, so I had to pull my hands out. The other two came out, and both got a face full of heel. Both of their faces caved in, and I pulled out my shoes, which were now covered in their black blood (…lovely). The alarm was shut off, and I waited for a few seconds. I put my shoes back on, rolled my neck and shoulders, and entered.

I closed the door and locked it behind me. The entire room was a laboratory, and there were gadgets and gizmos everywhere. From within one of the gloves I was wearing, I pulled out my phone, and took a few quick pictures, which were automatically sent to Daisy's phone.

"It won't be long before they come back." The person informed me.

The Shroob scientists had dropped him. I knelt down, and helped him back onto his feet.

"…Mario?" I asked as Daisy.

"Daisy?" he asked making eye contact. (I think he was as shocked as I was), "Oh no. Oh no. this is bad; real bad. Why are you here?"

"I was requested to come." I responded calling Daisy through my glove. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not important. You need to get out of here, fast! You need to go before they come here. I don't think you know how valuable you are to them."

I lifted an eyebrow.

"Daisy, there is no easy way to put this. They _want_ you."

"What good am I going to do? They're Shroobs." I countered.

Mario shook his head and paced around the room. I pulled out my phone again, making sure I got the collar around his neck. He saw my phone before I got it put away. He gave me a concerned look.

"…they're Shroobs." I spoke lightly and slowly, "What are they going to do?"

He caught my drift quickly. He started doing hand gestures to me, and I pulled out my phone to tape it. He pointed at his collar, and then pretended he was singing in a microphone. Based on that, he was telling me that there is a microphone in the collar around him, allowing the Shroobs to hear his conversations. I nodded, understanding. He paced, trying to think of a way to communicate with me. He pointed at the ceiling, and I noticed the video camera.

I grabbed one of the chairs, and smashed the camera to bits with my heel. I also smashed the alarm system in the room before it went off, too.

Once I was back on solid ground, he waved his hand at me, getting my attention. I faced my phone to him again, and nodded. He pointed at me, but shook his head. I lifted an eyebrow. He then knelt to the ground, and pretended to pick a flower from the ground and smell it.

"Me." I whispered in her voice.

He nodded quickly, but glared at me, one finger over his lips and the other hand pointing at the collar again. I rolled my eyes. He pointed at me again, and made a plus sign with his hands. He then pointed to himself. I nodded.

…the fear in his eyes told me that they had plans.

This was not going to be good.

The doorknob started to move. Fear shot through us both. The door opened, and Fawful entered, wearing a lab coat of sorts. I held both my shoes, preparing to fight again. He walked towards Mario, and held out a small black remote with a red button on it. Fear engulfed Mario's eyes, but he stood his ground. I had my phone resting on the back of my right hand, which was over my heart, so the camera could see everything. Fawful came closer to Mario, and he faltered.

"You need to learn how to stand down," he spoke as he pressed the button. Mario screamed in pain as electricity shot through him. He crumpled to his knees, "and that you need to fall to your knees when I or Her Majesty enters."

"Never…" he hissed.

He screamed again as another shock of electricity shot through him. Instead of just pressing it, Fawful held it down, causing Mario's pain to last longer.

"Stop!" I cried out.

The shock ended, and Fawful faced me.

"I have no shame for what I do." He spoke approaching me, "Do you know how long Fawful has waited for this moment: the moment where the big bad hero falls and cries like the little stinky baby he is. He is nothing but a big baby, and babies like him need to be disciplined." He shocked Mario again, and by this time his voice was hoarse.

"Please." Mario begged, tears stinging his eyes. "Please…"

As Fawful released the button, Mario crumpled to the ground fully. I knelt to him, and held him upright on his knees. He leaned against me, tired and weak.

"Princess," I faced Fawful, "we need your help. You help, you live. You don't; you die."

"The second option sounds better." I responded.

"You vile creature!" We all stopped as Princess Shroob entered. She tossed an extremely terrible looking Peach into the room. Mario's fear jolted through his body, and I truly felt his defeat. He knew better than to go after her, and his guilt was converted to fear and regret.

"How DARE you!" the Shroob Princess continued to screech at Peach, who was crying in pain and fear. A wicked smile appeared on her suddenly. "Why did you think you could escape? No one escapes me! Now you have done it. It is time. Fawful; let Mario have it all!"

"No, please!" Peach begged. "I'll do anything!"

"You lost that privilege, and now he'll suffer for it!"

On one of the machines, there was a red dial. Fawful turned it from Medium to High. Mario's collar started to charge, and the fear was intoxicating. I knew I had to do something, and fast. There was a _click_ sound, telling us that the collar was full of charge. Peach began to cry.

Before Fawful pressed the button, I jammed my phone in between the metal wire and Mario's neck. My phone was instantly fried. A bright light emitted from his collar, and I knew I had to move faster than I ever have before. The collar snapped off Mario before the explosion of blinding light. I grabbed him in one arm and Peach the other. I started to run as fast as anyone could in stiletto heels.

The light was so bright that no one could see anything. Thankfully, I was near the door, and made a quick escape. Remembering what happened in the hospital fire a year ago, I found a window, opened it, and quickly jumped out before the guards arrived. Both Mario and Peach had enough energy to slow down our momentum, and we landed in the moat.

Water means shortage of electrical objects; so Peach's collar was practically useless now. I kicked off my heels in the water, and I didn't stop once we found dry land. I continued running.

I got to the edge of Beanbean Kingdom before I slowed my run. The Royal Family met me halfway, with an ambulance. I set them down, and Peach was quickly loaded in the car. I collapsed myself, my body starved of oxygen. Mario stayed next to me, a bit shaken.

"Daisy, I have a question." He spoke.

I opened my eyes, looking at him

"…why did you risk your life? You don't-"

He was cut off when he saw the real Daisy. He looked at me, Daisy, then back to me, and finally Daisy again. She approached me, and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Do you need anything?" she asked me.

"Clothing." I answered as myself.

Mario's face was absolutely priceless.

"If I weren't so exhausted, I would be laughing hysterically at your face." I spoke, my exhaustion apparent in the tone.

Peasley tossed me a shirt and a pair of pants. Grateful for actual clothing, I took off the veil, and tore off the gypsy-esque top I was wearing. Daisy helped me change into my normal attire as I managed to rip off the rest of the outfit. I stood up, resting my hands on my knees. Luma flew up and placed my hat back on my head as well as take the wig and crown off of me.

"Luma knew Mama come back." He purred as I kissed him on the head. "Luma got scared when Mama went bye-bye."

"You threw us all for a loop when you fried your phone." Peasley added, "But we still got the information you fed to us."

"Can I get rest?" I asked.

I felt my feet give in under me. Before I crashed to the ground, I felt Mario's arms catch me. I could hear him tell the others that I would be alright.

I finally allowed my exhaustion to envelop me.


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing that I saw when I opened my eyes was Peasley. He was stretched out beside me, sitting up and reading a book by candlelight. As he turned the page, he saw me. His lips curled up slightly as he faced me, setting the book aside. He placed the back of his hand on my forehead.

"You feel better?" he asked.

I nodded, yawning as I sat up with him.

"Good. I'll let the others know."

"Did you do anything to me?" I asked sleepily.

"You still sound exhausted; go ahead and rest." I fell on the bed again. "And to answer your question; no I didn't. I don't think Daisy would let me."

"Good. You're not my type."

"Are you sure?" he twirled some hair on his index finger.

"I am straight, Peasley." I glared at him. "And if Daisy finds out that you are flirting with me, she'll punch you in the face without a second thought."

"I can still try, no?"

"I prefer not." I decided to change the topic before it got too far. "Where is everyone?"

"We are all on a rotation. Don't fret about Daisy; she is in Mario's protection."

"And that is supposed to make me feel better?"

He didn't answer. I got up, and rolled my shoulders. I felt my ears, and the diamonds were still in. I hissed in pain as they moved in my ears. I finally stumbled out of bed, and almost hit the floor in the process. Managing to catch myself, I grabbed the robe that was conveniently hanging on the bedpost and put it on.

"Before you head out, I suggest you fix your face." Peasley spoke as I reached the bedroom door. "I could help you, if you would like."

"No, it's okay." I answered. "And stop hitting on me."

Peasley rolled his eyes.

"Could you get Mario for me, though?"

Peasley left without another word.

I lit some of the other candles and sat down in front of the vanity. He was right; my face did need to be fixed. I grabbed a towel and soaked it in the water bowl. As I scrubbed the towel across my face, I felt a pair of hands carefully remove the earrings. I cringed in pain as the second one was removed.

"Sorry, Mama." Luma chirped.

He grabbed a small towel of his own, and helped me get the mascara off of my eyelashes and where it ran on my face. I thanked him, and he nuzzled under my chin, his light emitting a soft glow around us. He asked if I was feeling better, and if he needed to get me anything. I shook my head.

"Mama." He spoke softly. "Luma has question."

"Okay. Go ahead." I ushered.

"Luma…had dream. Dream scary. Listen?" I nodded as he sat down on the vanity mirror. "Black. Luma was in dark. Other Lumas, too. Different colors. Many colors. Girl, too. Took care of us. Purple things came; take us away. Girl try to rescue us. Fell from ship. Luma wake up."

"Mama here now." I soothed after a few moments.

We sat in silence. He didn't know what to do, and I didn't know what to say. The silence also had a soothing effect on both of us, as we enjoyed each other's company. I think he fell asleep on me after a few minutes, as his light dimmed. I carried him to the bed, and set him in the little box with a pillow in it the Queen had made for him while I was gone. I sat down at the edge of the bed, debating on what to do next. I looked at the clock on the end table, and it read 3:00 am.

"You need me?" Mario yawned as he entered.

"Sorry." I apologized, "You can go back to sleep if you want."

He shook his head, "It was close to my turn anyways. Coffee?"

He handed me a white mug. I took it, thanking him in the process. It tasted different from the one back at home; that's to be expected when you are in a different Kingdom. Mario and I chatted softly as the night drew to a close. The morning rays of sun began to slowly bathe the world in its array of colors.

"The rotation worked like this:" Mario continued to explain, "One person watches over you while the others work on locating the other escapees."

"Did we ever figure out who they were?" I asked.

Mario nodded. "I overheard the Shroobs talking about them. Everyone guessed that it was Waluigi, Wendy and Rose. We are pretty sure about Waluigi and Wendy; we are getting strange readings from the water currents, and most likely Wendy would stick with Waluigi. The only issue that we are faced with is that we are beginning to believe that Rose is not with them."

"Can I help out?" I offered.

"Yes, by resting. Your last mission wore you out and terrified everyone else. Oh, speak of, this is from the Queen."

Mario handed me a new phone. I opened it, and it lit up. There was a banner on the screen, reading 'thank you' in all capital letters. I looked through my contacts, and noticed that some were different.

"They had to get the contacts from Daisy's." he explained. "But she reentered her number for you. Everyone should have your new number by now."

"I could rest down where you guys are." I offered after thanking him. "You guys won't have to do this whole rotation thing; I would be right down there with all of you. As I am resting, maybe I could help-"

"You need sleep, Luigi."

"Loud." Luma complained.

He flew up to Mario, and hit him on the nose. I laughed softly.

"Just, promise me you will sleep a little more." Mario said. "I'm worried; you haven't been healing properly."

I nodded, agreeing.

We both stood up. Mario took my mug while I grabbed a pillow, blanket and Luma. As we made our way out of the room, the guards greeted us. We got to the stairs, and starting climbing down them.

Holy hell the marble was cold!

We continued to walk through the castle until we got to the conference room. There was a large, semi-circular table in the middle of it. The part that was cut off of the circle was lined with computer monitors. The center of the outside of the circle had a few keyboards, and Peasley, Peach and the Queen were sitting next to it. The space where the keyboard was at was empty; Mario sat there. A cot was moved beside the table and there was a chair next to it in case I woke up and wanted to join in. The three of them greeted me.

"Where's Daisy?" I asked.

"She sits there." The Queen acknowledged the chair next to the cot (I was wrong on that part). "She went out for more coffee. She'll be back."

As she finished the statement, Daisy walked in, carrying a tray of coffee mugs. She said hello to me, passing the mugs out to everyone.

I set Luma next to the cot, and to Mario's request, I stretched out on the cot, relaxing. I was worn out, but that didn't stop me from throwing my input into the conversation. The main issue that we talked about was that if the readings we were receiving from the ocean were from Waluigi conjuring his magic ability, or a storm. We couldn't tell from the patterns that the sensors fed to us. There were many breaks; people went out of the room to stretch their legs or to breathe fresh air and clear their minds. Daisy had no intention of being involved; she made any excuse she could think of to not answer.

I pulled out my phone.

_Waluigi. _I texted quickly, _It's Luigi. Old phone got fried. Will explain later. Where are you at? Need to talk when available._

I pressed send, and then joined everyone else outside of the room. I walked up to my room and got a change of clothes. I was now wearing my normal attire, and Luma had woken up by this point. He was munching away on a Cinnamon Square and chattering the way he usually does when he was content. I took a deep breath. Luma handed me a Square, and I ate it, thanking him. As I was munching away on my light breakfast, Luma flew to the window.

"Mama." He asked. "Why Shroobs here?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "No one is sure. We need to find your friend Tall Purple Man first."

"Wrong." Luma said it with such certainty that he startled me. He faced me, looking angry. "Tall Purple Man strong: he fight them. Luma worries about possible attack. Need to focus on big picture. If focus on small details; miss something right in front of noses. Tall Purple Man fine; us…"

We went back downstairs, and he said the same thing to the others. Not exactly verbatim, but he got the same idea across. Everyone agreed with him. Even though we kept a watch at the monitor with the water currents and activity, we had another one up. That one was filled with data and text about the history of Shroobs and their strengths and weaknesses. Mario had kindly added 'Baby Tears' to the list of weaknesses.

Unfortunately, that was the only thing on that list.

"This issue is that the Shroob race is so developed and complex that they don't seem to have one weakness that hits all of them." Peasley mentioned after drinking from what looked like to be an extremely expensive looking tea cup. "They are most likely more developed than our race."

"Are you saying that the citizens of Mushroom Kingdom are not as developed as the citizens of Beanbean Kingdom?" Peach asked.

"You must remember that our Kingdom is already gone, Princess." I countered, "So is Daisy's. The Beanbean Kingdom is the only Kingdom standing against them that are allies with both Kingdoms."

"Thank you." Peasley flipped his hair.

He blinded the hell out of everyone in the process, too.

"Must you do that?" Mario asked blinking about ten times before glaring at Peasley.

The Prince shrugged.

The conversation continued. We jumped from one screen to the other quite a lot. The waters were acting more strange the more time that passed. There was no longer a pattern for the waves and the tides. They were spread out, and one section had more activity than the rest of the ocean. We knew it had to be him; the waters were extremely violent in just only one area. The waters around it were just as active, so it was safe to assume that Waluigi was in the heart of the storm and he was pulling water from around him. Daisy came back into the room. She stated that she didn't like the look of the sky; that it looked the same as it did when the Shroobs did when they took Mushroom Kingdom. We all looked at the sky, and the clouds were a greenish-brown color. The others regrouped, noting that they had to make a move soon.

My phone vibrated, and I almost cheered in joy when Waluigi's name lit up on the screen. I opened my phone.

_This is Wendy. I'm holding his phone. He is fighting the Shroobs at the ocean. Assistance, please? He's getting weak…_

Panic flooded me.

"Daisy," I commanded not making eye contact. "We need to go."

I'm not one to command her to do anything, so everyone was thrown back. Daisy followed me, concern filling her eyes. I showed the message, and she nodded, the worry replaced with seriousness. She left, and met me at the exit of the castle with a different outfit. Instead of her usual dress, she was wearing denim jeans and a yellow t-shirt. Neither the pin nor the crown was with her, and she had pulled her hair back with a ponytail holder. Her gloves were gone, and she wore orange tennis shoes. She nodded at me, and we both charged off into the storm.

_Hang tight for a little longer._ I typed as I ran;_ Plant and Fire/Lighting are on your way._


	10. Chapter 10

I'm glad that Daisy handed me a plastic bag for my phone. Lord knows that I can't get this one replaced if I lost it. After I secured it in my pocket, Daisy and I ran towards the sea. The rain splattered on us, freezing us in the process. We ran to keep warm, but we slowed down when we could see the water's surface.

I helped Daisy down the side of ledge as we got to the shore. The wind was extremely viscous, tearing her hair out of the ponytail. At the very edge of the ledge was a small cave. Wendy was hiding from the rain and wind. Her outfit was torn in multiple places, and she looked exhausted. Her eyes filled with tears of relief when she saw us.

"He can't hold them off much longer." She pointed to the heart of the storm. "He's in the heart of the water twister. Please help him!"

Daisy placed her hand on the sand, and closed her eyes. The bottom of her hand began to glow a soft green light. Blades of grass weaved themselves together and made a bridge towards the heart. I walked along its path as it built in strength and length. I got to the outside of the eye.

"Put down the barrier!" I cupped my hands and shouted as loud as I could.

The walls of water died down enough for me to walk through (and the bridge to extend). Waluigi was standing on a fountain, bending water and shooting them at the Shroobs.

"Put the entire thing down, Waluigi!" I shouted getting myself frustrated.

"Do you want us to get killed?!" he snarled at me.

Lightning flickered in my hand and danced through my fingers. His long, lanky arms fell to his sides, and the water crashed into the sea. The pedestal he was standing on gave way, and he collapsed on the bridge, breathing deep and heavy. Lightning and thunder began to show life in the sky. By now, they knew what that meant.

They knew that I was there; and that they were defenseless.

Well, I was wrong on the last part; they had force fields around the ships, securing them in a bubble. I closed my eyes and let my anger get the best of me as the electricity grew with my rage. I felt the bridge raise me towards the sky and closer to the thunder heads. I raised my hands above my head and cupped them like I did when I held Luma at the Star Festival. Bolts of lightning streaked from the sky and fell within my hands, curling and twisting in my hands into a ball shape. As more and more lightning fell from the sky, a war cry emitted from my throat as I faced the ball towards the ships.

The lightning and the electricity formed a beam of destruction, not only shattering the force fields but barbecuing the ships and everything within them. An ear-deafening crack of power sounded as the lightning made contact with each ship and Shroob in its path. The power became hungry for more destruction, and it fed off of the power from the ships, eating everything and causing the ships to explode into fiery pieces of rubble and rain. As they crashed into the sea, I felt myself calm down as the bridge retracted.

By this time, Waluigi was standing up. I held my hand out to him, my green flame a small candle flame.

"Close your eyes." I instructed. He obeyed. "Imagine a flame. Make sure it is your color. Not very big; think of a candle flame like I just showed you."

A small flame flickered in his hand.

"Now, imagine yourself walking into it. It doesn't burn you; it will burn your pains and aches. The flame to your skin is warm, like sitting in front of a bonfire. You are sitting at the perfect distance; you are warm, but not too hot. Walk into it."

The flame that was in his hand flickered and it snaked across his body as it healed him. It was a single ribbon of purple flame slithering over his arms and shoulders.

"Finally, you need to walk out of the flame. You are not cold when you leave, though. You feel refreshed; you feel new. New, poised and confident."

The flame that was around him died off. It returned to a normal flame in his hand. He opened his eyes, and the purple light finally diminished. He stood up, and we walked the rest of the way. When we reached the sandy shore, Wendy came out of her shelter, embracing Waluigi. Daisy released her spell, and held my hand. We talked among ourselves for a bit; mainly checking if the other person was okay. The rain still downed on us. Waluigi spun his hand in a circle, and snapped his fingers. The rain stopped, and the sun began to shine once again.

* * *

"Luigi, you asshole!" Mario screamed at me once we got back. "You could have gotten yourself killed out there! What were you thinking?"

"Waluigi wouldn't have lasted as long as he did." I responded lightly, "I had to move, or he would have been the one dead."

"But you're healing! You're not healthy enough to fight. This is not only your fight, Luigi. You had your solo fight already, and you almost died. Hell, you still may die from it! I am not allowing you to fight anymore! Not until you are fully healed."

He slammed my bedroom door on me. I heard him lock it from the outside.

_Ask Mario to let you in. _I sent a mass text to Peasley, Wendy, Daisy and Waluigi. _He's angry with me._

_ Why? _Fastest response from Peasley ever.

_I fought. He wanted me to stay and heal. _

_ Huh. Well, mother is doing well; she is healing just fine thanks to Dr. X._

That conversation ended there. Knowing that I couldn't do a whole lot in the room I was trapped in, I stretched out on my bed, my phone in my hand. It vibrated.

_Luma says hi._ Waluigi sent me.

I sent back a smiley and closed my eyes. I heard the door open, and saw Wendy. Even though her face was strong and composed, her eyes read a different story. She asked me to remove my shirt so she could check on my scar and see if everything is functioning properly. I unbuttoned the night shirt I had changed into, and propped my head up.

"Take deep breaths." She instructed.

I obeyed. She listened to my heart beat and my breathing patterns. As she listened, her eyes watered slightly.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked still breathing deeply. "I'll just listen."

"It's Rose." She spoke lightly as she took off her stethoscope. "We lost her when we got attacked by the Shroobs. We had been hiding for a few days. He tried to save her…"

"What happened?" I took her hands and she sat down. "Wendy, you need to tell me. I can rescue…"

"You can't." she cut me off. "I don't know where she is. Even if I had an idea, I don't know where to begin to start looking. No one knows where she is."

"Have you tried texting her?"

"Shoot one to her. I'm afraid that they know who I am. Since she doesn't have your number, they won't know who it is until the message is open."

_Rose, Luigi. Are you ok?_

I put my phone away. Wendy told me that I was healing properly and that the fight did well for my healing body. I reassured her, telling her that once I hear from her that I would let her know. She nodded. In the meantime, she would take my place in the planning that was held in the Conference Room and that she should tell Mario and the others about the problem.

"Luigi," we made eye contact as her eyes spilled tears, "You have been her best friend for years. I just wanted to thank you for being there for her."

With that, she left.

I closed my eyes, resting in the silence of the night. Man, I didn't realize how fast time can fly when you are fighting to save the world. I know how fast time can fly when you are terrified out of your mind; it is nothing compared to this, though. So much has happened in the past few days it seems like it all happened in the distant past. Everything last year seemed like it was another lifetime.

My phone vibrated.

_I'm okay._ It was Rose. _No idea where the hell I am, though._

I stood up and opened the door.

Heh. Wendy left it unlocked.

"Wendy!" I called out as I entered the Conference Room.

"Luigi!" Mario screamed at me.

"She's okay." I ignored Mario yelling at me and approached Wendy. "Rose is alright. I just got an answer. She's alive! She's okay."

Wendy held me tight, thanking me.

_Your sister is worried about you._ I wrote.

_Is she and W alright?_

_ Both are safe._

_ I have no idea where I am. The only thing I know is that I'm on some sort of a pirate ship._

* * *

Author's Note: Some of you may be confused about hwy Waluigi has the power of water. Allow me to explain. In Mario Power Tennis, one of his abilities that he uses on order to hit the ball that is far out of his reach, he can turn the court into a pool and swim across it to get there. That is how I made this decision. :)


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to Wendy backing me up with doctor information, I was able to leave the castle again. Mario stayed at the Castle to defend Peach and the Queen. Waluigi, Daisy, Wendy and I headed out. We weren't running; no use to since we had no idea where Rose was. Luma sat on top of my hat, looking at everything. He usually added himself in conversations whenever he could. When we got to the edge of the shore where we were not too long ago, my phone rang, signaling that it received a message.

_Where are you guys at? _Rose asked.

_Just got to the shore. You?_

_ Turn to your right. I see you._

All four of us turned, and our eyes took in the biggest pirate ship I had ever seen. I have no idea how long it is, but I could tell that this was serious business. Three giant masts stuck out, accompanied by monstrous sails. We approached the ship, taking note of the windows it had. Near the back was the Captain's quarters; it had the most windows and you could see straight in. Rose was sitting near the corner of one of the windows. She waved to us short and quick.

_Can you get out?_ I asked.

_ Not with the Captain still in the room._

I sighed. _Do we have to fight him?_

_ Him?_

_ The captain._

_ She's a girl._

The boat suddenly jerked, and started to set sail. Before it got too far away from us, Waluigi propelled us on, and shot himself onto the deck after us. We all quickly hid within the shadows of the cargo. As footsteps approached, I panicked, and followed Waluigi's example of hiding in one of the nearby barrels.

"Does anyone know where we are?" Daisy asked from the once she was hiding in.

Thankfully, we were all in close range of each other.

"We are all in barrels," Waluigi stated matter-of-fact, "that is the extent of my knowledge."

I took a deep breath and climbed out of my hiding place after a couple of minutes. I went over and helped Daisy out. Waluigi got out by himself (by knocking his over and crawled out of it), and helped Wendy. After we checked if we were alright and still in once piece, I looked around, and realized that we were in the middle of the ocean. There was no trace of land in sight, only the land we had left behind.

All of us were in the cargo area by this time. Daisy was pacing back and forth, Waluigi was talking to Wendy, and I was sitting in the corner watching Daisy pace. The world around us rocked back and forth to the waves. Eventually, night fell, and we all attempted to make some sort of sleep. Daisy snuggled up to me to try and stay warm. She was on my lap and I wrapped my arms around her as she relaxed. Waluigi said that he would keep watch for us. I nodded, allowing drowsiness get the best of me.

* * *

I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the sun. I smiled as I yawned deeply and slowly. I blinked a few times, and it took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dim light of the cargo area that we were at. Waluigi was sleeping on his side, curled into a ball. Beside him, propping herself against one of the barrels was Wendy. She was talking to Rose, who was sitting crisscross. She looked up at me, and smiled. She came over to me.

"I thought you would be in here." Rose said. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine for being in here." I responded as Daisy was coming to. "Hello to you too." She groaned softly and went back to sleep. "How did you find us?"

"Brian told me. He was the one who distracted the Captain as you got in here."

"Any idea where we are going?" Waluigi asked sitting up.

Rose shook her head, mentioning something about of a temple.

"They're pirates." Wendy stated, "What do they want with a Temple?"

"Treasure." Waluigi answered groggy.

The boat suddenly jerked, and all of us were jolted awake as all of us were sent in different directions. The rocking got rough, and we all had to hold onto something strong or tied to a wall in order not to go flying every which direction. I was thankful that I don't get seasickness. Seawater sprayed into the cargo area from the deck, soaking everyone. I made sure my phone was in the bag before a wave crashed through the grating, flooding the room in a waterfall. I managed to open my eyes and not get any water in them. Daisy was holding onto a net that held a few crates with Rose and Waluigi. Wendy was thrown off it, and I managed to hold onto her as the boat rocked again.

More water entered the cargo area, and I knew that I could not hold onto the metal frame for much longer. As the boat rocked their direction, I let go of Wendy, and Rose grabbed a hold of her before we were all sent in different directions once again. The ground was entirely soaked with ocean water. If we tried to stand up, we just crashed back onto the ground because of how slick the boards were. Daisy was lying on the ground, motionless. I feared the worst, but the sight of a green light reassured me.

As more water entered, the light around Daisy glowed brighter. She was breathing deeply, and her eyes were closed in deep thought and concentration. Even though the boat continued to rock back and forth, she managed to keep her concentration regardless of being thrown across it at times. The light from the ceiling soon grew dark, and I suddenly knew what was happening.

What looked like a giant piece of seaweed wrapped itself around the ship, securing it. More and more (based on what I was hearing) wrapped themselves around the ship, holding it in once place. When the big waves occurred, Daisy put in extra effort in order to not lose her grip on the big ship. Summoning the seaweed took a lot out of her, so she didn't have a lot of energy left. Another wave crashed into the ship, and a loud _crack_ was heard, telling us that one of the leaves had broken. The ship began to tilt as Daisy tried to regain her lost grip.

A laugh caught Waluigi's attention, and suddenly a Shroob was sent flying through the crates. Using the water around him, Waluigi managed to smack a few out of reach from Daisy. The sisters suddenly had white lights around their hands, and they were casting healing spells on the two summoners.

I should have guessed; the two doctors were Healers.

I knew that I had to do something. I made my way through the cargo area, dodging crates and torching Shroobs along the way. Once I got to the stairs, my power had converted, and soon I was shocking them. I had to be careful, though; salt water is a great conductor for electricity. I really didn't want to shock anyone else other than Shroobs. Luma went ahead of me, warning me when they were coming down the stairs. He would just shout 'Mama' before any came down the stairs. Some I managed to electrocute, but others got away from me. Not many did, though. I knew that Waluigi was strong enough to hold off the ones that escaped me.

The seaweed around the ship looked like giant green tentacles of a monster trying to eat it. The crew was trying their best to fight off the Shroobs, but many fell to their lasers. Not only were there Shroobs on the deck; others were parachuting from the biggest Ship I have ever seen. Standing atop was the unmistakable figure of Princess Shroob. It looked like she was shouting orders at her minions as they jumped off.

Rain suddenly came cascading from the sky. At first, it as a gentle sprinkle, but it didn't take long for it to turn out into a downpour. Luma hid back in my hat; wanting nothing to do with the monsters. I looked around me, trying to think of some sort of an idea. I watched one of the shipmates fall from the tallest mast into the dark seas.

That gave me an idea.

I sprinted across the deck, trying not to slip too much. I did end up hitting the ground a few times. On one occasion, I managed to catch myself on the ropes leading up it. I looked out of the corner of my eye, and saw Waluigi following me. I looked farther back, and I noticed that the cargo hatch was locked.

He climbed up the ropes next to me, determination etched into his face. Unfortunately, the Shroobs saw us climbing the mast ropes. The Ship charges up one of its lasers, and it started firing at us, not only searing the ropes we held on to but sometimes almost searing us. One particular shot almost killed me, but thanks to Waluigi, he pulled me down the rope, and only my hat was knocked off my head, it falling into the depths of the sea. Thankfully, Luma wasn't thrown off, and he hid under Waluigi's hat. With nothing to protect my eyes, I scaled the rest of the ropes practically blind.

Waluigi got up to the top first, and pulled me up the rest of the way. We looked down at the ship, and the lock on the cargo door snapped, and the door flew open, water filling it rapidly. Waluigi nudged me, and we both went to work. He tried to slow down the rate of the rain as I tried to calm the storm down. The waves' motion slowed down, but it never reached a standstill. The lightning had stopped, and I was pointing at the Ship, sending electric shock waves at it every few seconds. Waluigi sent a ball of water at it, and I shot electricity through the ball, causing probably one of the most deadly combinations known to man.

The ball of liquid electricity hit the Ship, and the sounds of explosions filled the air. Black smoke plagued the sky. I slid down the rope like it was a wet slide from my worst nightmares. Waluigi followed close behind. We got back to the cargo area and Rose was handling a short dagger while another pirate had a longer sword. Both were dealing deathly blows to the incoming Shroobs. I closed the door on my way in. I managed to dodge the flying blades of death and slide across the ground where Daisy was in deep concentration. I held onto her, using my flames to not only warm her but to loan her my power. I warned her of the final wave, and she nodded.

As soon as she did, the Ship crashed into the sea. The wave that resulted from it not only curved over the ship, but it almost flipped it over. I was thrown away from Daisy's side, and I crashed into the pirate that was helping Rose.

Thankfully I didn't get stabbed.

The wave crashed into the deck, the force and pressure snapping some of the beams like they were twigs. We were all swamped with water, and I managed to make my way towards Daisy. I held onto her, and fed her more power. I was soon feeling weak and tired. Luma gave me a small burst of energy to give to Daisy, but that was it.

The sea rocked a little more, than it became still. The sky began to clear as Daisy closed her spell. The tentacles of seaweed shrank back down into the sea peacefully. A few moments passed, and Daisy had tears of happiness in her eyes.

"We're alive." She said loud enough for the others to hear. "Holy shit we're alive…"

"That was terrifying." Wendy said getting out of her miniature prison of cases.

"Is everyone alright?" the male pirate asked.

"A bit shaken." Rose responded, "but I think we are okay."

"I don't want to think of the damage done…"

We all climbed up to the top of the ship. Well, except Daisy; she was too weak, so I carried her. It took us a while because of how slick the wood was. Once I saw the top, I wanted to get sick. The sight was horrid; there were crew members strung around, all dead. The damage to the ship looked like a light breeze of wind would cause it to shatter into a million pieces. Glass as well as sword shards were littered on what was left of the deck. There were Shroobs everywhere; their eyes nothing but black holes now that the light was diminished from them.

The pirate ran across the deck, knelt down, and managed to pull someone out of the rubble of debris. Rose turned to us, and warned that the woman was the Captain. I nodded, and Daisy managed to stand up on her own as I approached the Captain. She looked me over, taking mental notes of my appearance. I felt that it was polite (is that the word?) to salute her like her crew would. I could hear Waluigi laughing behind me. The Captain saluted back to me as I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Thanks for the help." She spoke in a business-like tone.

"You're welcome." I responded breaking my stance.

"What brings you here?"

"Originally, my friend Rose. But then the Shroobs came."

The captain nodded. We chatted for a short while, and we made a decision. She would sail back to the Beanbean Kingdom with us, and while she gets her ship repaired, all of us (and what remained of her crew) would have the time to recover from being thrown around like potato sacks. Then we could discuss what the next best move.


	12. Chapter 12

"So there are five temples?" Mario asked. "I only thought there were two: Fire and Lightning."

"There are others." Captain Syrup (we finally learned her name) spoke. "Fire and Lightning are the easiest to get to."

"Easy?" Mario snorted. "I thought they were quite difficult."

"According to what I had gathered," the male pirate named Brian explained as he shuffled through papers, "there are temples for: fire, lightning, wind, sand and ice."

So, here was the layout: we were all in the Conference room, but we had moved all the chairs in a circle. The cot I was in earlier was now occupied by The Queen. It was propped up in a fashion that she could still participate in the conversation without it becoming too awkward for her and for the others. Another table had been moved in, and it was a full circle. The chairs and the cot were around it. Mario was sitting across from Captain Syrup, and they had their shares of bickering back and forth. Waluigi refused to talk to her, mentioning something along the lines of how she hasn't changed since the last time they met (which frightened me a tad). Daisy and I were running errands; refilling coffee mugs and whatnot.

Anything to keep us busy I guess. Eventually Rose got restless. So she joined us, telling everything about what had happened to her and how she got onto the ship in the first place. It was a rather interesting tale. There was more to it, but she said it was one for another time.

So, to sum up the meeting in a lot less time than it actually took, the main topic was what to do next. According to Brian, the Shroobs are also looking for the Temples. Just like Mario and I earlier, they got into to Temples. Unlike us, though, they came out empty handed. What they were after were ancient scrolls (which were the papers Brian was filtering through) that told of an ancient revival legend. The scrolls that were found in the Fire and Lightning Temples are the beginning and end of the legend. Brian (and Mario)'s biggest fear is that the Shroobs have the other three.

"We need those scrolls!" Syrup screamed as she pounded her fist on the table.

"So you can sell them and make a load of money?" Mario shot back. "Absolutely not! We need to keep them out of Shroob hands! Who knows what they are trying to do?"

Basically, it has been a shout-fest between Mario and Syrup. No one else has really had the courage to step in the conversation. They had been going back and forth for about an hour.

"I personally think the thing we need to worry about is _getting_ the scrolls." I said to Rose as I poured tea into the Queen's cup.

"Let alone getting into to the Temples." She responded. "According to Brian, the closest one here other than Fire and Lightning is the Temple of Gale."

I looked over at her, and immediately recognized the light in her eyes. I nodded to her, and we continued on like nothing happened. After we returned the pitchers to the kitchen, we both headed out into the warm afternoon.

* * *

"So…it is South West from the Temple of Lightning." Rose said as she examined a map.

"Well, we're at the Temple." I stated, "…which way is South West?"

"The sun sets in the west. So we should head that way."

It still felt weird to feel the breeze on the top of my head. I ran my hand through my hair, missing my hat deeply. Not only did it keep the sun out of my eyes, but it also prevented a decent amount of sunburn that I would normally get. I was just glad we were in the shade of the thin forest we were walking through, or I would be as red as Mario's shirt.

As we zigzagged through the forest, we made light conversation; mainly focusing on if we were headed in the right direction. The sun was setting fast, and my fear and paranoia about the dark came just as fast. No, I am not a three year old who is afraid of the dark; I just don't like the thought of having no idea where I am and where the fuck I was going. The last thing I need is to get lost in the Temple of Gale and it be darker than night.

…or get lost trying to get there.

We reached a small clearing and it opened up to a tall mountain along the border of TeeHee Valley. Up on the very tip top of said mountain was the Temple of Gale. Rose and I craned our necks, and she placed her hand above her eyebrows to not only block out the sun a little but to see if she could actually see the Temple itself. The smile that lit her face told me that she saw it.

"How do you plan on climbing that?" I asked as we made our way to the base.

"Well, the thing is that the Temple was located here so people on the ground can't get to it." Rose explained as she surveyed the land around us, "So naturally, we need to enter the Temple from the air."

…I had no idea how to respond. The more I looked at the Temple, the more I felt convinced that there was no way we would get in. She placed the map back into the backpack she had, and pulled out a climbing rope. She approached the base, looking for a foothold.

"I thought you said that we had to fly to get there." I retorted.

She finished tying the rope firmly around her waist.

"Who said flying? I didn't." she responded. "Can you give me a lift?"

I didn't answer.

"I need you to jump as high as you can, then throw me straight up. Once I get to a place where at least you can stand, we can repeat the process until we get there. Luma can help us by pointing out the next foot ledge."

Taking it as a signal, Luma emerged from the backpack, and flew up a little bit, and stopped a few feet in the air. He danced in place, waiting for us.

"It's not going to work…" I said as I knelt down.

Rose stood on my hands. Taking a deep breath, I jumped as hard and high as I could. It was nothing worth bragging about; and it wasn't my normal jumping height, either. Once I got as high as I could, I shoved Rose off of my hands like I would lift something flat. As I lifted her, she jumped off my hands, managing to snag the foot hold Luma was dancing next to. She held onto the ledge, telling me to use the rope to climb up.

This process went on for most of the evening. We did have a few falls, but we didn't hit the ground. When Rose would miss the ledge, Luma would zoom to the closest handhold so she knew where it was. There were also times that I lost my balance and fell. Luma helped out there, too; not only pointing out foot ledges but sometimes handing me the rope. He would shout at me to let go of the rope and support myself for a tad if he knew Rose was losing her grip. Soon, it got dark. The problem was that the mountain that we were trying to scale was not far out enough in the clearing for the moonlight to guide us. Luma (now armed with a flashlight) not only lit up a foot hold for me, but a hand ledge for Rose.

All I have to say is that I would have given up a long time ago if it wasn't for Rose's determination to get to the top.

Eventually, we did get to the top. I threw her as hard as I could, and managed to hold my ground. She scrambled up the ledge, and helped me up. As soon as I was on the flat ground, I collapsed in exhaustion. Rose collapsed next to me, just as out of breath. Since there was nothing to block it, the wind was shockingly strong, so we couldn't rest for long. I tied the rope around my waist, and we both scaled the ground, looking for ledges of some sort so that we both didn't go flying off to top. There were points where one of us did, and all we could do was hold on to the rope and pray that the other person didn't lose their grip. Luma held onto the rope in between us, dimming his light so that we could actually see each other. Suddenly, the rope pulled me forward, and I realized that we were falling. I tried to hang onto something, but my fingers were so numb that they couldn't grasp anything. I went tumbling down a dark hole after Rose.

I was thankful that I didn't land on her, despite the sudden fall. I landed on my side in the middle of the ground while Rose landed off to the side and almost fell off the platform. This time, however, I managed to grab a hold of a ledge, and she climbed up the rope as I clung to the inch of rock for dear life. Luma was still dancing in the air, but he wasn't pointing out anything. Still armed with a flashlight, he slowly flew around the area. I took note that we were in the middle of the biggest platform. As he migrated around the area, we also noticed that there were more ledges for us to climb on. I turned to Rose to ask about our next plan of action, but she was asleep. I lied down next to her, and fell asleep as well.

* * *

Well, I don't know if I exactly feel better and refreshed after I slept. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. After they adjusted, I suddenly remembered where I was. I turned, and Rose was sitting up where she had fallen asleep the night before. Luma had slept in the backpack since I didn't have my hat. He crawled out, holding three breakfast bars. He handed one to each of us, and he tried to open his to no avail. Still half-asleep, I laughed lightly as I opened the wrapper for him. We all took our time of eating our extremely light breakfast of: breakfast bars, water and a handful of beans. I stood up, and asked if Rose was ready to go.

She shook her head.

"What?" I asked shocked.

"I've changed my mind, Luigi." She spoke lightly. "We should have waited for the others."

I knelt down to her height and held her hands. The look she gave sent chills through me. In all of the years I have known her, I have never seen her as scared as she is right now. She wasn't this scared when her Dad was murdered! I sat down next to her, still holding her hand. Luma sat on the other side of her. He poked her arm.

"You brave." He piped. "Luma knows. Very brave. You stay on pirate ship for week. Didn't cry. Daddy went bye-bye. No cry, then. No scared then. Cry later, but not then. You do this, Luma believes. Luma always right."

She smiled and stood up. She was a bit more confident, but I could still see the fear lingering in her eyes. I stood up as well.

"We'll be okay." I reassured her. "We have already come this far. Why turn back now?"

She nodded, the fear slowly draining from her eyes. I smiled reassuringly, and she laughed as she rubbed my hair into my head.

Man, I miss my hat.

We retied the rope around us, and I sent Luma to scout the land out to see where we could go. He came back a few minutes later, saying that the only way was down. With that, he zipped down the giant pitfall. We both jumped off.

The thing that scared me was that I wasn't scared. Wait…let me try that again. That sounded weird. The thing that scared me was that I wasn't scared when I was falling. I felt at peace, actually. It looked like Rose was, too. Either that or she was focusing on the task at hand. The farther we fell, the colder it became. Well, that's natural I guess; we're going underground.

Suddenly, Luma came in my line of vision. We both acted fast (Rose and me) and slowed our momentum down by falling against the wall of the platform we had jumped off of. We slowed down enough that we gracefully landed on the ground. Luma appeared again, and buried himself in my backpack.

"There's something here." I whispered.

Rose stopped moving, and besides the echoes of water dripping from the ceiling, a sound that sounded like breathing came slowly and softly. Rose took a deep breath, and walked on. I followed behind her, untying the rope in the process.

Unlike the rest of the Temple, this room was lit up. Inscription of old times were etched and carved into the walls like hieroglyphics. There were blue torches that lines the walls every few steps, casting eerie shadows every direction. Rose looked around in awe, her green eyes wide in wonder and excitement.

Good. She was back to her old self again.

As we walked through the chambers, we came across what looked like a sarcophagus. The same inscriptions that were on the wall decorated the casket in an array of different colors and words. Unfortunately, neither one of us could understand what it said. I pulled out my phone, and snapped a few quick pictures of the hieroglyphics that lined the place. I had forgotten that they got sent automatically to Daisy's phone, though. When I saw the 'photo sent' message on my screen, my gut dropped. I quickly explained to Rose the situation, and she nodded, understanding. She knew that she had to get out of this place alive, or Wendy would kill me.

**Who dares lurk within?** A voice called in my head.

Both of us jumped. Luma cried in fear and hid in my backpack again. Based on her reaction, I think she heard the voice as well. The door behind us suddenly slammed shut. We were trapped. The sarcophagus lid started to quake, and Rose quickly jumped back as the lid flew off. Slowly, the biggest Wind Wisp I have ever laid eyes on emerged from the casket. It was bigger than Bowser! When it stood to its full height, I felt like a little bug compared to the giant being made from wind.

**Who dare disturbs my slumber?**

Neither one of us answered. I think we were too terrified to do anything. The giant monster saw Rose, and it encompassed her with its power. I could barely hear her scream through the tearing sounds of the whirlwinds.

The amount of wind movement increased, tearing the place apart. Luma came back to me (when did he leave?), carrying what looked like an old piece of paper. I realized with shock that it was the Scroll of Swift; the ancient scroll in the Temple of Gale. Luma returned within the backpack.

The horrible thing was that there was nothing I could do to help Rose. I tried to get into the whirlwinds to help, but they were too strong and I was immediately knocked back. I knew better than to try and throw my power into the twister; it would only hurt her. Suddenly, everything stopped. The Wisp disappeared, and Rose collapsed onto the ground. I carried her like Mario carried me just last year, and remembered that we were trapped. The Wisp attacked again, and I was thrown against the wall. As I hit the ground, I heard Rose scream again. I stood up, and she was on her knees. Her hands were on her head, and her breathing was rigid. Her body started to quiver, and I knew that the Wisp was trying to take over her body. I wanted to help her, but I knew that there was nothing I could do.

This was her fight; and her fight alone.

"Luigi!" I turned to see Brian prying the door open. "We need to get out! The entire place is crumbling!"

"But Rose-" I started.

"We don't have time! She'll be fine."

I ducked out of the room, feeling guilty for leaving my friend behind. Brian and I ran through the halls, and soon it became dark again. He pulled out a flashlight so I knew where he was. Instead of going straight like Rose and I had, he turn a sharp right. I followed, almost tripping on the pair of stairs in the process. I was climbing them two at a time when the rocks began to crumble overhead. They fell at a horrifying rate and speed, which made me go three steps instead of two. Once Brian and I got to the top of the stairs, we saw the ceiling crumble.

It became a dead race of time. I had never run so hard and fast in my life. Brian made it out, turned, and reached his hand out to me. I grabbed it, and he pulled me with such force that it sent us both tumbling out of the door frame as the ceiling crashed. Rubble covered the doorway, and even if I hired Bowser and Donkey Kong to help out, there was no way in hell that the brick could have been moved. We both sat in utter horror at the entrance of the Temple of Gale. The only thought in my mind was that there was no way Rose could get out.

Brian stood up, and approached the rubble. He took out his sword, and tried to cut it away. Sadly, it only resulted in him dulling the edge of his sword. He gave one last blow to the wall only for it to be thrown back into his face. As he went flying (with the rest of the debris), Rose emerged from the interior of the Temple, her hair flying up a little bit.

"…it accepted you?" Brian asked shocked.

"I was afraid at first," Rose explained, "but I didn't back down. I knew I had to fight or it would have been curtains for me."

"I'm just happy you're alive." I stated as I stood up.

"We'd better get back to the crew." Brain stated as he started off, "They weren't too keen on the idea that you and Rose ran off to go after the treasure by yourselves."

"Well, someone had to get it before the Shroobs got their claws on it."

We all made our way back towards the Beanbean Castle. It was ten times easier getting back to the Kingdom than it was to get to the Temple of Gale. As we approached the Castle, we were greeted not only by my brother but Syrup as well…and they both looked pissed.


	13. Chapter 13

"You filthy rat!" Syrup screamed at me. "You were supposed to wait on me! That was our deal! So the treasure is rightfully mine."

She snatched the scroll out of my hand.

"If we waited on you," Rose hissed, "the Shroobs would have gotten to it first. And it is not just yours. It is all of ours."

The arguing and bickering continued for a while. Mario wasn't mad at me; he just wished I had warned him about it before I left. He was happy that we got the Scroll in the first place. Apparently while we were in the Temple of Gale, the Shroobs got there, too. They started to destroy it, threatening the Wisp that if he didn't give up the treasure that they were looking for, they would destroy the place.

We soon went back to our old routines; everyone arguing and planning on what to do next while Daisy, Rose and I made sure everyone was comfortable and had plenty to drink. It wasn't because we didn't care about what would happen or we just were the people who went to the temples; we just really had no interest in participating in the discussion.

Once things were sorted out, they would tell us and we would follow them.

I was refilling Peasley's glass when I noticed that Luma was nowhere to be seen. I looked around, and asked him if he has seen the little guy. The Prince shrugged, mentioning something along the lines of eating cookies. I thanked him, and continued around the table, refilling glasses before I went looking for Luma. I put the pitcher on the main table in the little personal kitchenette when I spotted him. He was hovering over one of the old manuscripts, examining it. Every once in a while, he would fly over to a little notepad and scribble something down, then go back to the manuscript.

"What are you doing, Luma?" I asked him.

"Read." He chirped. "Write so Mama understand, too."

I looked at the notepad he was scribbling on, and I noticed that he was writing in English.

**_The Revival…_**

"Luma," I asked, "do you understand what it says?"

"Still confusing, but Luma work on it." He looked at me, purring with happiness.

"Why are you doing this?"

He looked at me. "Luma wanna help. Luma can't help in talking because Luma doesn't understand importance of talking. Need to do things, not talk."

"I agree." I kissed him on the head. "Luma do good. I tell-"

"Mama." He cut me off, "Don't tell. Luma wanna do this on Luma's own. Luma get it done soon. Promise."

With that, he returned on reading the manuscript. He purred with happiness when he was half way through the manuscript. I grabbed the pad he scribbled on, and in fine handwriting wrote the translation from his Luma talk to normal speaking language so people could understand what was on the notebook. We worked for about two hours before Wendy came in, asking what we were doing.

"Oh, I am helping Luma with drawing." I quickly turned the paper I was writing on backwards and drew a quick sketch.

Wendy smiled, "We need you in the discussion. Mario and Syrup finally decided the next Temple that we are going to, and who is going."

I got up, and the three of us went into the conference room. By this time; Peasley was asleep on a cot next to the Queen, who was on her cot, propped up and participating in the conversation. Daisy was somehow managing to stay awake (poor thing). Waluigi, Rose and Wendy were sitting at the table with Mario and Syrup. I approached Daisy, and asked if she wanted to go to bed. She shook her head, yawning in the process.

"Sweetheart, let me help you to bed." I whispered to her.

"I'll be fine." She responded, her head nodding in sleep.

I picked her up, and she knew better than to fight with me (she was too tired to, anyways). She leaned her head against me as I carried her out of the room. Mario made a low cat whistle before I left. Walking up the stairs with a person in your arms is a lot harder than what I expected. I walked slowly, taking one step at a time. I think she felt confident in me because she didn't cringe in fear once we started up the stairs. She didn't wrap her arms around me, either; she could have been too tired to. However, she had enough energy to open the door for me once we got to our room. As soon as we entered, I walked through the infrared beam in front of the door, causing the lights to come on. I walked over to her bed, and set her down. She had enough energy to get under the blankets. I tucked her in.

"Need anything else?" I asked.

"You." she responded.

I laughed. "I'm not like Mario. I have a little more decency than that, thank you."

"More reason."

"I think you would fall asleep before we got started." I kissed her. "Get some sleep for me, okay? You wore yourself out."

She nodded, and closed her eyes. After turning out the lights, I quietly left the room and went back into the Conference Room.

Well, I only got to the door before I was greeted by Waluigi, Wendy and Syrup. My winter coat was thrown at me, and I was told to follow them. Confused, I carried the coat over my arm and followed.

* * *

"Here we are." Syrup said as she stopped in front of a glacier. "Don't get yourself killed, 'kay? Off with ye!"

A board was placed in between the ship's deck and a flat piece of ice on the glacier. After tying the rope around my waist, Wendy went first. We all had small backpacks and pick axes with us for the travel along with our coats. As we made our way onto the ice, I couldn't help but to not slip in the surface. I must have fallen about ten times before we found the entrance to the Temple of Diamonds. To my surprise, it was a lot easier to get into here than it was to get inside of the Temple of Gale.

There wasn't a pitfall to greet us.

Instead, it was a slide made of ice.

Before I could fall down the slide, I swung my axe as hard as I could, forcing it into the ice. I held on for dear life as the rope that was tied around me held the weight of Wendy and Waluigi as they dangled hopelessly off the end of the slide.

Oh… there's the pit.

I held on as hard as I could as I felt the weight increase. I knew that one of them was climbing up the rope. A couple minutes passed, and the most horrible thing happened.

The rope snapped.

Suddenly all I felt was my own weight. I rested my head against the ice, feeling hopeless and guilty. I wouldn't allow myself to think that they had fallen into the pit. No; they are smart. It won't happen. I felt Luma emerge from my pack, and I watched him float down towards the pit. He shone his light brighter, and the sight of ice spikes filled the bottom of the pit. My heart sank. Luma flew around, searching the area.

"Tall Purple Man!" Luma called out, his voice echoing through the Temple, "Tall Purple Man!"

I managed to make my way back up the slope, and just lied at the entrance, unsure of what to do. I had gotten my axe out of the ice before I hit the ground, though. I waited for a few minutes, and Luma came back. I looked at him, and he wiped my tears away.

"They okay." He piped at me. I sat up. "Both safe. Waiting for you. Slide slide, and Mama make it."

I stood up, placing the axe back on my hip and Luma in my backpack. I faced the slide again, fear coursing through me. With a deep breath, I sprinted towards the slide, and fell on my back as I flew down the slide at an alarming speed. The hardest thing to do was to keep the straight path as the arctic air stung my face. I watched as the ramp approached me, and let out the loudest scream I think I have ever made as I became airborne. I lost my composure, and went flailing through the air. I landed on my stomach, and slid a few more feet before stopping. I composed myself quickly and managed to sit up, brushing the ice off of my coat and pants. I looked around, but didn't see a trace of either of them. Luma flew to my side, and pointed forward.

After being winded from the slide of icy terror, I took my time gliding across the surface of the ice. Luma tapped my shoulder, and he was carrying what looked like a pair of black shoes. I smiled, knowing what he wanted me to do with them. With excellent care, I took my shoes off and put on the other pair of shoes, which ended up being a pair of ice skates. Getting back on my feet after the skates were on was quite the challenge, but I was soon speed skating through the Temple of Diamonds. It felt good to feel the wind in my hair (I still miss my hat, though) as Luma and I sped through the maze of ice.

I have to give a little credit Peach though; she was the one who made Mario and I learn how to ice skate years ago. Of course, he being Mario, he got the hang of it fairly quickly and was spinning circles the first day. I took my time, and was soon as good of a figure skater as Peach. It took about a year of dedication and falls, but I could soon out-spin Mario.

So, I can't say that I wasn't doing spins and jumps while I was skating. I had slowed down quite a bit, so I was skating at a leisurely pace, sometimes skating on one leg. The Temple got darker and darker as we went through the tunnels. Luma's light got brighter, and pointed out to me where the pitfalls were. There was one part where I had to skate on one leg for an extended amount of time just to get through the corridor without falling into the pit! I spread my arms out to keep balance (and to know if I was about to hit the wall). Luma jumped into my pack as soon as the path opened wider and there was more room to skate. The walls were lined with torchlight like in the Temple of Gale; only these flames were white instead of blue. The room got colder, and I stopped, looking around again. I heard blades scraping the ice, and I turned around to see Wendy and Waluigi skating behind me. Waluigi did a spin in place while Wendy stopped in front of me. Luma sat on Waluigi's shoulder, crying 'wee' as he spun in circles with him.

"As I mentioned earlier," Wendy continued a conversation they were having, "Rose and I did a little figure skating in Toad Town, but we weren't as graceful."

"It takes practice" Waluigi replied as he stopped spinning. "as well as a lot of aspirin."

"Did you guys find anything?" I asked as we sat down on the ice.

Wendy held out The Scroll of Snow. Luma cheered, and looked into it. He looked at Wendy, apparently irritated.

"Yeah…" Waluigi spoke. "There's nothing in the scroll."

"Wrong one?" Luma asked. "This fake. In Tomb?"

"We never found the Tomb. Did you, Luigi?"

I shook my head.

"Well, we need a plan." Wendy stated as she grabbed a pen and pad. "No one should be running around in any temple without some sort of plan. Unlike Rose, I like to have some sort of an idea as to what we are doing here."

The conversation lasted for a few hours. I got restless (and cold) so I was soon skating around them and spinning. Waluigi felt the need to critique me, and eventually stood up; showing me the proper way to do certain spins and jumps. He wasn't mean about it, and he wasn't doing it to show off, either. I honestly think he was just doing it to help me and to take a break from planning. We all took a break at one point, and taught Wendy how to skate on one leg. It took a bit, but it was fun while it lasted. Eventually, we got some sort of a plan down, and we all skated down the corridor. We were all in a horizontal line, and Waluigi would take the lead if the hall became too narrow. I noticed that there were inscriptions within the ice.

"It looks the same as the inscriptions that were in the Temple of Gale." Wendy spoke.

"MAMA!"

I turned sharp, just in time to see a Shroob run off with Luma. I sped off with a speed I didn't even know I had. Waluigi and Wendy were hot on my trail with the same intensity that I had. At every corner and turn, I saw that demon turn down the end of the corridor. Luma's crying motivated me to skate faster. Fear flooded through me, and I felt the Lightning in my body building and growing.

We got to the exit of the Temple, and the Shroob had a little communicator out, telling the Mother Ship that it was ready. Waluigi threw water at the Shroob's feet; the water freezing on contact of the ice. The ice encompassed its feet, and suddenly it couldn't move. I skated over to the monster, punched him in the face, and took Luma. I slowly skated in the other direction. The sound of the ship arriving filled the silence, and the three of us (Luma was back in my backpack) hid around the corner. The laser fired off, and we knew the Shroob was free.

"If he is in here," Wendy whispered, "then that means that there are others…right?"

"Most likely." I answered. "So now it is a dead race for the Scroll."

"Have." Luma piped.

I peeked around the corner, and the Shroob that captured Luma was handing Princess Shroob the scroll. I tossed the backpack to Waluigi, held the scroll we had, and approached the duo before anyone could say anything. The glare I received from the Princess sent chills through me. I skated closer, and slowly pulled out the scroll I had. I held out both hands, offering a trade. The minion and Princess looked at each other, and she gave me her Scroll and took mine. I bowed slightly and made my way back. I handed the Scroll to Waluigi before I heard the laser shot. I screamed for them to run, and then I felt the impact. The area between my shoulder blades burned with pain as I collapsed on the ice.

"Mama!" Luma cried in terror. "Mama!"

"Stay with us, Luma." I heard Waluigi soothe from a distance. "Mama will be okay."

"MAMA!"


	14. Chapter 14

I felt myself wake up, but I didn't dare open my eyes. My entire body hurt, and the pain in my shoulder blades burned with every slow steady breath I took. I didn't move; I didn't want to alert the Shroobs that I was awake and/or conscious. I suddenly felt the cold air around my body, and I slightly shivered. With that small movement, I could feel that there was something on my shoulders.

I heard the Shroobs talking, but none of it made sense to me. I yelped in pain when one poked my arm with its sharp claws. I opened my eyes, and noticed that the thing I felt on my shoulders was actually a glass orb that encompassed my head. I sat up, and shot a glare at the Shroob. He spoke to me, but none of what he said was understandable. I cocked an eyebrow, showing my confusion. He nodded, and charged off. He came back a few minutes later with an earpiece and microphone. He handed it to me, gesturing to me that I had to put it on. He also signaled that I had to hold my breath in order to get it on. Fear flooded my eyes, but I nodded, understanding.

I felt the air get sucked out of my lungs as the globe was removed from my shoulders. Trying not to freak out (too much), I slowly installed the earpiece and microphone into their proper locations. The Shroob replaced the globe, and I took deep gulps of oxygen. He started talking again, but I still couldn't understand what he was saying. He went to my side, and I heard a _pop_. I looked at him in worry only to realize that he turned the thing on.

"Can you hear me?" the earpiece translated what the Shroob spoke.

Nifty; might as well take this with me provided that I can get out. I nodded.

"Try talking; see if we can understand you."

"Hello." I spoke softly, sleep drugging my voice.

He nodded. "Good. We can communicate better with this."

"Does it work?" The door across the room slid open, and Princess Shroob entered gracefully. I never realized how terrifying she was until up close and personal like this. The Shroob nodded, bowing to the Princess. She approached me, and the only place I wanted to be was anywhere but there. We made eye contact, and I felt terror slowly possess my senses. She smiled reassuringly, but that didn't help me.

"Princess." I acknowledged to her.

Least I could do, I guess.

"You are…?" she spoke after a few minutes.

"Not Mario." I spoke lightly. I was expecting some sort of horror in her eyes and face, but I saw none. "I am his younger brother, Luigi."

"Do we collar him?" the minion asked.

I froze.

"No." the Princess replied sharply. "I have…other…means of persuasion for him."

…Oh no.

The Princess left, stating that it would be best if I followed her. I stood up, somehow managed to stay balanced, and followed her quietly. I was glad that they didn't strip me of my normal attire. I placed my hands in my pockets, and felt a little better when my fingers felt my phone. Eyes of the other Shroobs followed me, but I refused to make any kind of eye contact, banishing my eyesight to the ground in front of me and the occasional glance to see if I was still following the Princess (and not too closely, either). One came up to her, holding a silver tray. On the tray was a blue goblet with what looked like tea. She took it, and continued on her way, drinking from the glass on occasion.

"Princess, I have a question." I spoke looking at her. The silence that followed signaled to me that she was listening. "You said you had other means of persuasion for me."

"I did, yes." She responded not looking back.

"What means of persuasion do you have?"

"Wouldn't you rather know what you would do rather than how it has to be done?"

"No." I responded after a few seconds. "I would rather be prepared for how the persuasion would occur."

We reached the control room of the Mother Ship. Other than the usual controls, gadgets and gizmos that are usually in a control room, there were two chairs in the middle of the room. One was the throne; the other a basic folding chair. She acknowledged the folding chair to me.

"Ladies first." I spoke gesturing her to her throne.

She walked to her throne, and I sat down with her.

"Where is the Luma?" she asked me.

I didn't make eye contact. "With the other travelers I was with when you captured me."

"So she is not with you?"

"No, _he_ isn't."

I put emphasis on 'he' to show that Luma was indeed a boy. The Princess didn't say anything to me, so I decided to end the conversation there. I felt my phone vibrate slightly. I pulled it out, and Waluigi's name flashed on the screen.

_Are you okay?_

I felt myself smile: he actually cares for me!

_I am okay…_

_ ?_

_ With 'them'._

_ Oh._

_ One thing: let Wendy fight her battle._

_ ?_

_ You'll soon find out._

_ You mean when the Ice Illusion attacked her? That happened already._

_ Is she alright?_

_ Yup. Nearly froze us all to death, though._

_And Luma?_

_ Fine. Wants his Mama, though._

_ Tell him Mama love Luma_

_ Shall do._

I almost placed my phone in my pocket, but decided against it. I held my breath, and placed my phone in the helmet, connecting it to my earpiece. I also managed to call Peasley, and hide my phone in my shirt. I sealed my helmet, and breathed oxygen slowly as Princess Shroob faced me.

"Mr. Luigi." I faced Princess Shroob. "I need your help with something."

"Okay." I responded concerned.

I managed to sneak a look at my phone. My screen showed that Peasley answered. I just prayed that he could hear the conversation clearly.

"Do you remember Mr. L?" I froze in terror. Apparently that was the answer she was looking for. "Silly me; how could you forget? Anyways, I need you to be a distraction."

"…You've lost me."

The Princess sighed. "You see, Mr. Luigi, Fawful has this grand plan to revive Mr. L. We were to co-rule the Kingdoms together. He gets Sarasaland, I get Mushroom Kingdom, and my elder sister gets the Beanbean Kingdom.

"But the problem is that my sister is not yet revived. That's what we need the Scrolls for. The problem is that Fawful wants to use the Scrolls to revive Mr. L. See the problem?"

"Can't you revive both of them with the same ritual?"

"It's not that simple. The Scrolls are actually a complex and harder way to revive a lost soul. My workers have found another solution. I will tell you what it is…only if you agree to help me."

I fell silent, not knowing how to answer. Neither did Peasley, who said so quiet enough so that I could hear him but the microphone not pick it up. The Princess was staring me down, so I knew that I had to answer. I opened my mouth to, but a siren cut me off.

"Princess!" one of the pilots screamed, "We've spotted an enemy ship. Your command?"

Suddenly the entire ship came to life. The Princess started barking commands, and the pilots followed them. There were lasers shot, and lasers received, and through all the chaos I managed to slip out of the room. I don't know how I did it, though. The entire ship shook violently as Shroobs were thrown in all different directions.

"Did you get everything?" I asked Peasley.

"Yup!" he responded happily. "Save yourself now. We got it."

I ended the call, and just ran (although I had no idea where I was going). I ran forward, and the Shroobs paid no mind to me; they were all too busy trying to save themselves and their Ship. The Ship shook violently as another laser hit dead on target. I lost control of my own feet, and lost my balance. The shot caused one of the windows closest to me to shatter, and instead of hitting the ground, I was thrown off the ship and into the abyss of space. I tried to hold on to something, but I couldn't grasp anything as I flew hopelessly in the vast emptiness. I managed to compose myself, and looked around. My eyes managed to catch what looked like another Ship. Grabbing one of the nearby debris, I managed to launch myself in that direction.

I noticed that a thin bubble, the color of rainbows, managed to capture me, and it was drawing me clear to the other spacecraft. As I floated within the confines of the bubble, I couldn't help but to smile and breathe a sigh of relief as I made eye contact with a particularly colored Luma.


	15. Chapter 15

As the bubble around me disappeared, my feet landed in the area of the ship that was dedicated to the garage. Though, I never understood why there was a need for one when I was last here. I looked around, and noticed that nothing has really changed since I was last here. Slowly, I lifted the helmet off of my shoulders, and turned off the microphone.

"Mr. Mario?" I looked up to see the black Luma, "Are you okay?"

"You know I am Luigi, right?" I responded as I steadied myself on my legs.

The Luma nodded. "Mama is looking for you. Follow me, please."

Thankfully, the black Luma didn't move extremely fast. I think he noticed that I was struggling to stay on my own two feet. I fell to my knees, and he zoomed off. A raging headache decided to throb in my head, and I groaned in pain. I felt myself sway, and decided to lie down on the grass. Yes, there is actually grass on this spaceship. Kind of weird, but I expected it.

I didn't expect the Luma right in my face when I opened my eyes, though. It screamed and flew away, hiding behind a surprisingly small group of Lumas. Each one was staring at me with the same fear in their eyes. I tried to stand, but my arms gave way and I hit the grass again.

"Here, let me help you." I felt someone pull me up to my knees. I opened my eyes slightly, and regret it as my head hurt even worse. "Where is your hat?"

I swatted the top of my head, attempting to fix my hair. "I lost it in the ocean. It's a long story." I answered.

"This?" a tiny Luma handed me my hat.

"Thank you." I placed it back on my head, "Much better."

I heard someone sit down beside me in the grass. "How did you get here?"

"Your bubble force field brought him here." The black Luma, Polari, answered.

"Are you alright, Luigi?"

"Yes. Tired, worn out, and scared, though. And you, Rosalina?"

"Just fine, thank you. Would you like to rest? I saw you fly off the Shroob Ship."

"We ALL did!" a blue Luma chirped.

"I will be alright." I responded standing up. "Is there any way that you could take me home, though?"

Rosalina's eyes turned soft. "I can, but there are a few things I need to tend to. You could help out, if you would like."

I said that I would love to help her. The ship needed repaired after the Shroob invasion, so I busied myself cleaning the yard with the other Lumas. To my surprise, the ship was extremely quiet. This was strange, counting that I was on a spaceship filled with Lumas. The silence made me miss my Luma. I sent a silent prayer for him, stating that I wanted him to be safe and happy.

Thankfully, there were no corpses of Shroobs that had to be removed. It looked like I was the only person (thing?) that flew off of the Ship and landed on this one. After I got done cleaning up the Kitchen, I noticed that there was only one Luma there with me. It was a little one, looked like it was just born.

"Hello, Mister." It piped at me. "My name is Solaria."

"Hello." I responded.

"Do you know where my brother went?"

I looked up at the little girl. Her eyes were filling with tears. I stood up and held her close like I would with Luma.

"What does he look like?" I soothed.

"He was big and strong. He is red. Name is Bubba."

"Have you asked Mama?"

It felt weird for "mama" to be referred to Rosalina instead of me. Solaria shook her body. She started to cry again when Rosalina walked in.

"Is she still looking for her brother?" she asked. I nodded, still soothing the little Luma. "Solaria, go on and help the other Lumas. I need to talk to Luigi."

"Okay, Mama." She sniffed.

She flew off, thanking me for helping her. I faced Rosalina, and her eyes read sadness that I have never seen before. I almost spoke her name, but she raised her hand slightly, stopping me. She told me to follow her, and we walked into her bedroom. It still looked the same as it did years ago. As I was looking around, Rosalina locked the door.

"I have no intentions of hurting you." she spoke lightly finally facing me. "I need to speak with you without the children hearing us." Her eyes started filling with tears, "If they hear me cry, they will pester me until they find out why I am crying. I don't want to tell them why, though. Or worse, they will think you are hurting me."

"And this is where I come in?" I asked as she sat down on the side of her bed.

She nodded, and I pulled up a chair. I sat the chair so the back was facing her, and I sat down, resting my arms on the back of the chair. I pulled out a small handkerchief, and handed it to her. She covered her face with it, trying to stifle her sobs. I knew better than to move, but I knew I had to do something. In all the years I have known the mysterious Rosalina, I have never seen her cry. A couple of minutes passed, and she pulled her face away from the kerchief, her eyes red. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing. She handed it back to me, but I rejected.

"You need it now." I whispered to her.

"Why do you carry it?" she asked dabbing her eyes again.

"If you look closely, it has the Sarasalanian Royal Crest embroidered on it. I carry it for Daisy when she falls into her fits of crying."

"She doesn't seem to be that kind of girl, though."

"Everyone has to cry at one point. She has a few times. When she cries, she gets…well…dangerous."

Rosalina chuckled at this. Good, she's calming down.

"Luigi, is Luma with you?"

A wave of loneliness hit me then. I missed him. I shook my head. "He is safe, though. He is under Waluigi's care. Why ask?"

"You need to protect him." Rosalina suddenly got angry. "You must not let the Shroobs get him, no matter the cost! They are after him, Luigi; they are after all of them!"

"Mama?" a little voice purred through the door. Rosalina took more deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. "Mama…?"

I opened the door and stepped out. A tiny green Luma was floating by the door. "She's okay. She just has a lot on her mind."

"She can tell us, though…can't she?" he asked lightly.

"What is your name?"

"Lucki."

"Lucki…I like that name." the little guy glowed brighter at this, "I haven't seen Mama in years; that's it. I am completely lost at what has happened. She is just filling me in with everything I need to know. Talking about that plus what has happened recently has gotten her a little upset. I'm helping her now. Once I have done as much as I can, I will look for you so you can comfort her, okay?"

"Okay. Can I do anything now?"

I thought for a little bit. "Could you bring two small cups of tea or coffee to us?"

Lucki zoomed off, chattering away. I turned back to Rosalina, closing the door in the process. She smiled a reassuring smile to me, whispering 'thanks' to me. She clutched a small, stuffed bunny close to her heart, trying hard not to cry again. Lucki chirped at the door, saying that the tea and coffee were by the door. I thanked him, and handed Rosalina the tea. We sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for the atmosphere to settle down a little bit.

"Luigi…" I faced Rosalina. "You need to protect Luma with everything you have. The Shroobs will stop at nothing to get a hold of him."

"Why?" I asked softly. "Why do they want him?"

Rosalina sighed, "It seems that the Princess is trying to revive someone."

It hit me there and then. The look on my face must have stopped Rosalina from speaking, because she fell silent. I pulled out my phone and called Daisy (she was the closest person on my contacts list). I started pacing across the room, putting the phone on speaker so Rosalina could hear as well.

"Hello?" Daisy answered confused that I was calling her.

"Is everyone with you?" I asked panic filling my voice.

"Yes…" Daisy sounded concerned. "You're on speaker now."

"Have you guys run into the Shroobs any since I left?" I asked openly.

"It's been rather quiet." Rose answered.

"MAMA!" Luma cheered.

That brought a smile to Rosalina's face.

"I realized something terrible." I spoke still pacing across the room.

"Go on." Peasley spoke his tone grave.

"Remember Princess Shroob talking about the Five Scrolls?" the silence told me that they all did. "Apparently Fawful wants to use the scrolls to revive someone else. Therefore, Princess Shroob can't revive her sister. The reason she is leaving us alone is because she is trying to revive her now! They have been flying through the entire galaxy, taking innocent Lumas, and using their power to revive her! I'm on Rosalina's ship now, and there are only a small handful of them left! They won't stop on their mission to gather as many Lumas as they can to revive her sister. One particular one is on her eye, and that is Luma. We need to protect him, no matter the cost! I don't know what kind of torture and danger that are putting the Lumas through, but we have to protect Luma, or it could mean death for all of us."

"It's like the vim escapade…" Mario spoke.

"But Lumas don't have vim." Wendy explained. "They must have something else; something so powerful that it could revive someone from the dead."

"That's not the worst." The Queen spoke. "We know who the Princess wants to revive; what about Fawful?"

I felt sick to my stomach as everything began to click and make sense.

"Come on back with Rosalina." Mario commanded. "We can plan more when you get here. We will protect Luma until you get back."

The call ended there. I closed the phone and faced Rosalina.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this." I spoke to her.

She shook her head, determination filling her eyes. She stood up and ushered me to follow her. We left the room, and the Lumas were floating in front of the door.

_Do we have a place to hold the other Lumas? _I texted to Daisy.

_Peasley says that he can make room._ She responded quickly.

"Rosalina. We can take them with us." I spoke lightly.

She nodded, and told the Lumas to go into the bedroom. They all filed in quietly and calmly. They sensed the tension in the air, and they didn't want to make it worse. One Luma carried a brown book with him. After he went inside, Rosalina and I followed. The room wasn't filled with Lumas, but there was a decent amount of them. Rosalina moved the chair that I was sitting on, and placed it in front of her desk. At the same time, all the Lumas let off a bright light and a chipper laugh. Once the light dimmed, there was a small control board in front of Rosalina. The room started to quiver and quake, and suddenly I realized that the room was flying. Carefully, she maneuvered the room off the ship. The wall in front of her gave way, showing a window pane, and soon we could see where we were going. We started traveling at a slow pace, but slowly, the room started picking up speed.

"MAMA!" One of the Lumas cried. "Our home!"

I looked back in time to see Rosalina's ship explode into fiery pieces. The entire ship…gone… In its place floated the Shroob Ship, menacing and cruel. One of the Lumas began to cry. Rosalina gunned it, doing anything she could to escape the Ship that was pursuing us. The other Lumas were comforting the small one that was crying

"There." I pointed towards the Beanbean Castle.

"We need help." She spoke lightly. "I can't shake them off."

I pulled out my phone and called Peasley.

"Yes?" he answered.

"They are behind us." I spoke. "and they're gaining. Can you rid of them?"

He hung up. As we got closer to the Castle, the Ship got closer to us. All the Lumas watched in dumbfound horror as the Ship got closer and closer to us. One of their lasers started charging up. Suddenly, a green aircraft flew past, destroying the Ship in the process. As we landed in the courtyard, Peasley met up with us. Instead of a smile that usually greeted me, his face was filled with fear.

"Peasley…" I started.

"They have him." His voice was grave. "They got Luma."


	16. Chapter 16

"So another group of Shroobs went and kidnapped Luma?" Rosalina asked.

Peasley nodded. His expression never changed since we got there. He was holding my hand, however, as a comforting gesture as I sobbed out of fear for Luma and guilt for me not being there to protect him. Rosalina already told me that it wasn't my fault; that there was nothing I could have done to save him. That didn't take away the guilt, pain or bring my Luma back to me no matter how much I wanted it to.

Even though I was in one of my crying fits, I managed to catch the gist of the story. Apparently, Princess Shroob knew that I wasn't going to submit to her easily. So she went on ahead and sent another group of Shroobs to abduct Luma. It wasn't easy for them, though. According to Peasley, Luma stuck with Waluigi, and everyone started fighting off the Shroobs. Peasley had to leave mid-fight to help out Rosalina and I land to safety. Rose and Brian were fighting at their best, but both of them were left with many injuries since they were the front men. Mario and Daisy fought as well, but they were also hurt in the process. The Shroobs outnumbered Waluigi, and he was badly hurt. He managed to fight off a few, but there were too many. Somehow, the Shroobs planned ahead, and managed to trap Waluigi in an area where he couldn't access water easily; thus, he couldn't use his Water Ability. They took off with Luma, leaving not only the castle in disarray but everyone in a lot of pain.

"The thing that I found most intriguing is that Brian was the first one to freak out about how that you had no idea about this." Peasley calmly stated. "After that short comment, Wendy sprinted out the Castle door without as much as a good-bye."

"What?" I asked shocked, "That's not like her at all!"

"I know…she charged off after him; no weapons, no plans…nothing. She followed her gut and charged blindly into danger. Even though she is injured, Rose is worried about her older sister. She wants to go after her, but neither Mario nor I will allow her to."

"And Waluigi?"

Peasley shook his head.

"Why don't you try to calm him down?" Rosalina suggested. "Prince Peasley and I will discuss the next best move."

I stood up, Rosalina handing me back the handkerchief that she had used earlier. As I left the room, I saw the destruction that was left behind. The tapestries were nothing but hanging strips of fabric, the magic within the painted cloth now murdered. The glass from the stained glass windows were scattered everywhere; no hopes of them being fixed in the future. The servants were cleaning up the mess, but I could only imagine how bad it looked right after the attack. Walking through the Castle made me think of the Mushroom Castle back at home. A small chill of fear went through me as I approached the stairs.

"It's good to see that you are safe, Luigi." I turned around, and made eye contact with Brian. Not only was he wearing his usual attire, but it was covered in splatters of fresh blood, and he had an eye patch over his right eye. Through the holes in his shirt, I could see the white bandages that were now stained a deep red. Regardless of his injuries, he still smiled.

"Same to you, Brian." I responded. "How is Rose doing?"

That smile diminished instantly. "She's a mess; she's too worried about her sister to take care of herself. She's trying to break the door down just to try and save her. I just tried to calm her down, but she has fallen into hysterics."

"Rose!" I heard Peach call out, "For heaven's sake, child, please calm down."

I heard the door slam closed, and Rose suddenly flew down the hall. She was running so fast that she didn't see Brian. He caught her, and the scream that escaped her throat was a sound I have never heard from her before. It sent chills through everyone. She tried to break away from Brian, but he put up a fight. After few minutes of struggle, she broke free. She started to run, but smacked into me. She tried to push me away, but I fought with her. We struggled for a bit, and she ended up digging her fingernails into my shoulders and I ended up pinning her to the ground. We fought a little more, and somehow, she was pinned to the ground, screaming for help while I was pinning her down with my hands on her shoulders and her hands still piercing the skin on the back of my shoulders.

I didn't realize how beaten up she was until I looked into her eyes and felt her relax against the pressure I had against her. Her eyes were filled with tears, and even though she stopped fighting, she still sobbed for her sister. Every once in a while, she would cry about how I was pinning her down; saying that I was hurting her and that she wanted to be left alone.

"Luigi…" Rose whispered after a half-hour. "Please get off me."

"Why?" I asked softly. "You'll only run."

"I love you and all, but not like this. Besides, won't Daisy be jealous that you are cheating on her with me?"

Brian laughed.

"Tell me what happened." We made eye contact again. "_then_ I will let you go."

"Luigi-"

"Tell me."

"…Daisy is behind you."

I turned slightly, and the look on her face was not of pure terror (which confused me). She was looking at me, but her body language read understanding (which confused me even more). I opened my mouth to speak, but she shook her head no. I stood up, taking Rose with me. I didn't let go of her, though. I moved my hands to hold her wrists, as she tried to punch me.

"You're hurting me!" Rose screamed. "Let me go!"

She tried to pull away, and I realized that my gloved started to turn pink.

"Brian…" the tone in my voice stopped everything. He looked at me in concern. "Get some bandages. She's still bleeding."

He charged off, and soon returned with some wrapping bandages. I took a roll, and we got started. Daisy joined in as well; she cleaned off her wounds as either I or Brian wrapped them in the white linen strips. Rose's crying soon subsided, and she was now softly sniffling. Daisy took over Brian's part when she had to wrap her waist area. There was a nasty cut that started under her left breast, went diagonal, and ended at the right hip. It wasn't deep, thank goodness for that. Daisy apologized once in a while when Rose would clench her teeth in pain, but she didn't make any attempt to stop.

Once she was cared for, I managed to gather her in my arms (the poor girl was too weak to stand anymore), and carry her to the bedroom Daisy and I shared. I set her down on Daisy's bed, closed the bed drapes, and whispered for her to get some rest and that I was here if she needed anything. As I closed the drapes, I faced my bed, and noticed that Luma's box was sitting on my pillow. I froze; the fear sparked by the impact the he was gone. I closed my eyes, took deep breaths, and walked towards my bed. I planned on just moving the box to the end table so I could stretch out (and possibly read), but that plan was shot down when I saw a folded piece of paper in his box. In his awkwardly large handwriting, the words 'For Mama' were written on the folded paper in green crayon.

My heart started pounding in my throat as I picked it up. I felt the pressure build in my eyes as I slowly unfolded it. Before I fully opened the page, I took a deep breath. As I opened it, I was greeted by a lot of the color yellow. I braced myself as I noticed that the yellow was actually a self-portrait. It was a little disproportional, but I could tell where his head was and where his hands were. One of his little hands held what looked like to be an overcooked chocolate chip cookie; an extremely dark brown circle with black dots on it. My eyes watered up when I saw the small message written in pink crayon at the bottom of the page.

_Mama's Star_

I managed to blink back my tears enough to hold the picture close to my heart. I heard the bed beside me squeak as Rose changed positions, so I knew that she was trying to get some sleep. I looked in the box again, and a small crumb caught my eye. I slowly placed my finger in his little box, getting ready to brush it away. As I pushed the crumb, the blanket moved, and I saw what looked like a perfectly good cookie underneath. My eyes watered up again as I delicately pulled the blanket back. When I saw the chocolate chip cookie with one, small bite taken out of it (and a few chocolate pieces taken out of it, too), I knew there was no use in holding my emotions. I let my tears flow, as I saw another small note on top of the cookie. In purple crayon, the words "for Mama aslo' (it was supposed to be 'also') were the last things I saw before I gave my pain a voice.

Just a minute ago, I was fine, worried about Rose's health. …I had just turned into a sobbing mess in less than 60 seconds. Before I could curl into a ball and cry in my own puddle of misery, I heard someone come walking into the room and embrace me in their arms While Rose managed to get up to see if I was hurt, I cried harder, making my voice reflect the pain and loneliness that was in my heart; not to mention the guilt. I managed to pull away from whoever was holding me, and curled into a ball, lying on my side. I refolded the picture and placed it in his box, bringing it closer to my heart. I felt a hand rest on my head.

"Go away, Mario." I wailed, burying my face into the pillow I managed to find.

"Man, you must be really messed up," I was thrown for a loop when I heard Waluigi speak instead of my brother, "if you mistook Mario's sausage hands for my delicate lean ones."

"Waluigi; yours are _far_ from delicate."

"Hey, you haven't lost it after all."

"But I am losing it, Waluigi. I already lost it; Luma…my precious Luma…" I started wailing.

He was gone…gone forever. I finally sat up, and started to brush my tears away…only to discover that I had none. Confused, I opened my eyes, and saw Waluigi pulling the tears off my face, making them float in mid-air, and making something out of my tears. Rose managed to get off the bed, and climb into the other one to sit next to me as I watched in either dumbfound confusion or in lack of enthusiasm (not sure which one). Right before my eyes, he built a small Luma out of my tears. I couldn't help but to smile when he made the water Luma dance around; floating about in the way Lumas usually do when they are bored. I didn't laugh until I heard the puppet master's attempt at Luma Talk.

"It sounds mad." I whispered my voice hoarse from wailing.

"It is." He responded. He made the Luma hit me in the nose. "It's mad because you are crying. Water Luma doesn't like it when people cry. It makes him fat." He added more tears to the Luma. "He will turn into a Wario Luma if you keep this up. Better stop."

"But I…"

The water suddenly shifted. It changed from a Luma to the saddest attempt at Wario's head I have ever seen. It floated up to me, and for some reason started to moo.

"Why is Water Wario mooing?" Rose asked very confused.

"Why not?" he responded.

"Can you make it bark?"

"…I can do worse." Water Wario's head backed up, and shifted into a Water Wario, complete with a body. "Hey, y'all! I'm Wario!"

"Why the southern accent?" I asked trying not to smile again.

"I'm the fattest man alive! YEEEE HAW!"

He made Water Wario do an Irish jig. Then the water changed to Peach.

"Hello, Princess." I greeted the Water figure.

"I are the Proncess!" Waluigi sadly made an attempt to sound like the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Before either of us could answer, the water shifted slightly, and soon Daisy was in front of me (Water Daisy, not the real Daisy).

"Oh, Luigi. I love you so much!"

…I didn't answer. Neither did Rose; we waited to see what would happen.

"You are so cute. I want to marry you! Will you marry me?"

Rose giggled as the water changed again.

"Two more." Waluigi spoke. "You'll love them."

…It was Mario.

"Hello, little bro!" it greeted me. Rose waved lightly and I made no effort to answer, as tears started to fall again. "Luigi! Stop crying! Do you want me to be as fat as Wario?"

"Maybe." I managed to speak through my stutters.

Waluigi took the fresh tears, and turned them into a rose.

…oh no.

Mario suddenly shifted into the person I feared it would be.

"Cheers to your mustache!" Water Peasley cheered in happiness.

"Really?" I asked.

Rose lost it. She laughed…hard. As a result, it made me laugh as well.

"My my my, Luigi." Water Peasley continued. "Look at how much you've grown! Take this: it's autographed!" I held my hand out slightly, and the water rose floated just above my hand. "Yes. That rose compliments your green nicely."

The water morphed into a blob, and was tossed into the sink of the bathroom (the door was open). Waluigi faced me again, asking if I was alright. I nodded, but I felt the pressure build in my eyes again. I closed my eyes, trying to hold back my tears. Rose brushed one away as it fell from my eye and slid down the side of my face.

"Can I tell you something, Luigi?" Waluigi asked. I nodded, stifling back a sob. "Luma missed you…a lot; more than I think you will ever know."

I looked up at Waluigi. "Waluigi…" I whispered in fear. "You're…crying."

"Is it a crime to?" he asked softly. His voice returned to normal volume. "Anyways, he missed you a lot. He would always ask me where Mama was, and if Mama would ever come home. Every time, I told him that you would come home to him, but I didn't know when. He would respond that he wanted his Mama, and start to cry."

"One night," Rose picked up where he left off, "Luma woke up from a nightmare, crying for his Mama. I asked him what was wrong, and he responded that the Purple Things were after him and his friends; that they needed to be stopped. At the time, I brushed it off by telling him that it was only a dream. From then on, all of us did anything we could to distract him from the dreams that he was getting. It was always the same dream, strangely."

"That's why there was a picture and a cookie waiting for you on the bed. He made a batch of cookies with Peach and Queen Bean, and nabbed the last one, stating that it was for Mama when he got home. He was so excited for you to come home. He would wait by the Castle Entrance, stating that he wouldn't move in case Mama came home and he wasn't there to see his Mama when Mama got home. He drew pictures with me, helped Wendy translate the Scrolls, and cheered on Rose as Brian taught her how to use a dagger."

"Wait a moment." I cut them both off. "What about Captain Syrup?"

"I was getting to that." Waluigi continued. "Before the battle, Syrup disappeared. Brian stormed out of the Study in a rage, screaming curse words at the top of his lungs. She took the Scrolls we had, sold them to the Shroobs, and sailed off. We also believe that she sold information to them about Luma."

"His rage set the mode for the battle." Rose spoke softly. "We were all angry and furious, we were in 'berserk mode' if I may use that term. I feel that even though we were defeated in the end, that we still had our best fight yet. Even though they got away with our treasure, we dealt a great deal to her Army."

I nodded, understanding everything. I stated lightly that I needed to get rest for the next big adventure that I was going on; to save Luma. Waluigi bid me good night, and carried Rose out of the room. Rose said good night to me, too. I stretched out on my bed, placing Luma's bed beside me. Tenderly, I took the picture out of the box, and placed it in my shirt, close to my heart. As I closed my eyes, I imagined what those monsters might be doing to my Luma. I fell asleep; revenge filling my heart, and a prayer for my Luma to return to me safely.

* * *

_Author's Note: There is an Art Feature for this chapter. Go to my profile to see it :) _


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, I went out into the town square, looking through the stores for equipment I may need for the journey ahead. As I strolled through the market, something in particular caught my eye. It was an explorer's outfit. It was all khaki, and had a hat to go along with it. It even came with the proper shoes! Now, I am not one to get excited for an outfit, but I felt that this outfit would fit the mood perfectly for what I was aiming for. I went into the store, and bought the entire outfit (hat and shoes included) without another thought or doubting feeling.

This is the sole reason why I save my money and not spend it once I get my hands on it. Sure, sure; it is nice to get a Mushroom Tea once in a while, but I like to save my coins for something big…like a new outfit. Or we (Mario and I) run into those instances where we need a lot of money in order to do something important; like travel. No one knows how much it takes to get to Sarasaland from Mushroom Kingdom and back. Daisy does it on a weekly basis, but she is a Princess. She's practically loaded compared to Mario and me. When we are not busy saving Princesses (or guarding the home front), we do what he can to get by. One time, it got too tough, and Daisy chipped in, helping us pay the bills before we were forced to vacate our home. I always made sure to pay her back, though. Either with cash or a date; whichever works better.

Once I got back to the Castle, the first thing I did was go up to my room and change. It felt weird to wear a different hat than my usual one, but change is good, right? I decided to wear a black t-shirt under my khaki jacket. As I was buttoning up the shirt, someone knocked at the door. I told them to wait a moment while I placed the equipment belt firmly across my waist. Once I got my shoes on, I opened the door to come face to face with Brian. He smiled a warm smile, but his eyes read another story.

"Go ahead and say it." I spoke as I placed items in the pouches on the belt. "…go on."

"You look like you are going to explore a jungle." He said.

"Well, I was expecting something along the lines of 'you look like an idiot' but that will suffice." I faced Brian. "Who is going with me on this adventure?"

"That's what I came to talk to you about." Brian sat down on the side of my bed, pulling off his bandana and messing with his platinum blonde hair. "Who do you want to go along?"

"I don't personally care." I closed the pouch that now held a few coins and slipped my phone in my pocket (in a bag, of course). "Wait, I take that back; anyone but Peasley."

"Do you not like him?" he eyed me, concerned.

"It's not that." I spoke lightly. "He tends to hit on me…a lot. He's a nice guy, but I'm straight. Besides, my heart is for Daisy."

"I understand." He stood up, tying the bandana back on his head. "Well, whoever you want to. Mario's placing bets."

"Just like him. What's his bet?"

He smirked. "He betting you'll take Daisy for some 'alone time' if you catch the drift." He started to leave.

"Do you want to go, Brian?" he froze in place. "You can if you want. All you have to do is ask. I don't think I will take Daisy; the Shroobs were pretty interested in her in the past, so it is best for the Princesses to stay back; much to her dislike."

"And Mario and Peasley will have to stay back to protect the Kingdom." Brian continued the thought. "So that leaves: me, Rose, Waluigi and Rosalina."

"Well you three are still healing." I countered. "I don't want to risk death with anyone…"

"Well, it is entirely up to you, Luigi." He started to leave again, "Oh, if you were wondering, my bet is you'll take Mario and Rose."

I continued to make sure I had everything with me. After double and triple checking that I did, I realized that I was indeed missing something. I went over to Luma's box, took the picture he drew for me, and delicately slipped it into my left breast pocket. Knowing that I truly had everything, I left my room. Slowly, I crept through the halls to not alarm anyone. I almost considered going at this myself, but I knew I would be easily outnumbered, and then it would be curtains for me. I got down the stairs, and snuck into the kitchen. Once there, I grabbed another bag, and placed three cookies into it, placing that bag into one of the pouches on my belt. Once I snuck out of the kitchen and back in the grand hall, I had made my decision on who I wanted to go with me. Slowly, I pushed open the doors into the conference room.

"So…" I started. "What are the bets?"

"I said Brian and Rose." Rosalina stated. "You are fighting against a tough group; you'll need as much help as you can."

"I say Peasley and Daisy." Rose spoke.

"I feel that she would kill him first." I spoke as I hugged Daisy from behind.

"Only if he were to hit on me." She spoke kissing me. (The irony of that statement…) "Mario and I should go; you haven't had an adventure with Mario in a while."

"One thing is certain; Waluigi has to go." Peasley sipped his tea. "He is the only one in a relationship with Wendy that is not siblings or a best friend."

"Not true!" Waluigi smacked him upside the head.

"As I was saying: Waluigi has water. Since that is the only clear weakness that they have, my vote is myself and Waluigi."

Everyone covered their eyes as Peasley flipped his hair.

"I'm not in this." Waluigi answered the question as the light dimmed.

"Now THAT'S what I call a shine!" Peasley said proudly.

"Why not Rosalina?" Peach asked.

"No." I stated flatly. "Something terrible is happening to the Lumas. If she sees them being tortured or hurt against their will, that would destroy her completely. I can't risk losing anyone to the Shroobs."

"I see your point." Rosalina agreed.

"Mario?"

"Hmm…oh, sorry. I was thinking that you and Daisy could handle this one."

"We would be outnumbered." She retorted.

"Besides, princess equals flood of Shroobs." Rose added, "And I don't think Luigi wants to pull another drag number."

"Really? He's already wearing a gay outfit." Mario spoke with a smirk on his face. "Add some girly frills, and no one will know the difference."

"We aren't getting anything done." The Queen shouted before I could argue back. "We need to make a decision now."

"You two," I pointed at Waluigi and Brian. "Waluigi has water, and he can calm down Wendy once we get to her."

"True." Waluigi answered.

"There is also a high chance that we will see Captain Syrup there, and you have a score to settle with her, Brian, yes?" Brian's face grew grave, and he nodded. "Plus, not only do you have a sword, you have a few other odds-and-ends that we could use."

Both of them stood up, and approached. Brian saluted me, but his faced showed that he messed up.

"Habit." He spoke as I saluted him back.

They left to gather their things. I checked again if everything was there (I'm paranoid, okay?) and in place. I felt Daisy tap me on the shoulder, and I turned to her, embracing her. She leaned against my chest, and felt the paper in the pocket. She kissed the paper then kissed me. I kissed her back, but it was short.

"Promise me something." She said.

"Anything…" I kissed her again.

"Don't be too reckless. Listen to your companions. Most importantly," tears filled her eyes, "…come back."

"I will, for all three." I held her again. "Promise me something?"

"What?"

"Don't change. Continue to be my girl. Most importantly; be here when I get home."

She nodded. We kissed once more, and she left. I saw her smack Mario upside the head. I assume it was for the comment he made to me, but I could be wrong. Brian and Waluigi appeared, and both had a backpack. By the looks of it, Brian was carrying foodstuffs and Waluigi was carrying clothing and medical stuff. After saying goodbye, the three of us headed out after Luma.


	18. Chapter 18

"Here we are," Brian spoke lowering the map he was carrying, "the Temple of Sand…wow; looks scarier in person than on the map."

Wow was right. The Temple was huge! It looked like a giant pyramid…that was it. No fancy decorations, no grand entrance…just a giant pyramid; kind of intimidating if you ask me. As we got closer, I realized that getting in there would not be easy (counting that I haven't seen anything resembling a door yet). The heat was bad; I was happy for the hat I bought at the store. It blocked out most of the sun from my face. Brian got creative and stuck one of his extra shirts under his bandana and was now wearing sunglasses. Waluigi changed into a purple t-shirt, but kept his overalls. I set my hand on the pocket with Luma's picture in it, boosting my confidence and purpose.

We got to the base of the pyramid, and I noticed a ridge. I smiled to myself as I jumped up to it. Pulling myself up, I realized too late that the ridge was too thin for my feet to land on. Since this is a desert, it is to be expected that there would be sand everywhere. The texture of the sand against the stone blocks caused me to slip, and I face planted in the sand. I heard Waluigi laughing as I got up, brushing the sand off of my outfit. Brian handed me a cloth, and I cleaned off my face. I thanked him as I handed it back.

"This is not going to be easy, is it?" I asked openly.

"I fear so." Brian responded. "What do you propose we do?"

"Well there was a ledge. I think it is like the Temple of Gale; the entrance is on top and we travel down. Or, it may be somewhere other than the top…somewhere on the base."

"Maybe a secret passage…"

"I propose," Waluigi stated, "that we follow the Ship."

We all watched as a Shroob Ship approach the pyramid. We were far enough back for them not to see us, but for us to see them. It landed, and Princess Shroob exited. She raised her claws, and a small door appeared. She stepped inside, and the three of us managed to slip in before the door slammed shut behind us. The corridor was dark, and the walls were very close. I wanted to light a match, but that would let the Princess know that we were here; and that is the last thing we wanted.

We continued down the corridor in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the Princess's footfalls. We soon got to an opening, and the room we walked into was lit up by torchlight. We stayed in the shadows as best as we could. We watched in horror as the Shroobs bowed to their Princess. When they all stood up, the Princess started to talk. I pulled out my translator and turned it on. Brian and Waluigi did the same (more were custom-made based on the one Princess Shroob gave me), and we could understand what she was saying. She mentioned the Lumas, and all three of us grew tense with fear.

"No!" a Luma cried out. The fear hit me; it wasn't just any Luma… "Go away! Luma no like Purple Things."

I felt Brian and Waluigi hold my arms in case I tried to make a run for him. They pulled me farther into the darkness as to not expose us. Luma flew into view, clutching a Scroll. The Princess asked him to give it to her, and he fired back that he wouldn't let her have it. The Shroobs tried to shoot him with their lasers, but Luma dodged them with ease. He was soon outnumbered, and he darted out of the room. Everyone stopped moving; they were waiting for something to happen. The Temple vibrated, and Luma cried out the most terrifying cry. I started to fight against Brian and Waluigi's grip. They pulled me back farther, and Brian covered my mouth so I couldn't cry out if I wanted to. The vibrations stopped, and the Shroobs quietly crept out of the room. We waited a few moments before we followed them.

We entered another room, its walls lined with three stone chests on each side. Brian, being the pirate treasure hunter he is, started going through them. At the end of the hall was a sarcophagus, its golden case glowing mysteriously against the torchlight. The door to leave the room was right next to it. Brian returned, only going through four of the six chests, mentioning that he didn't want to try because he might wake the mummy.

"M-m-m-mummy?" I whispered in terror.

"It is safe to assume there is one in it." Brian spoke lightly.

Waluigi placed his finger against his lips silencing us. "We need to whisper in case there is one. Didn't you notice how quiet they were when they entered?"

"True." Brian whispered. His face read concern when he faced me. "Are you alright?"

"Way to go, Brian; you spooked him."

"It's not like he meant to." I faced them. "Let's continue."

"We should go one at a time."

"If the mummy wakes up, continue on." Brian suggested. "No offense, but I would rather lose one life than all of ours."

It was settled then. Brian went first. He walked across the treasure chests, stepping very carefully to try to not make his footsteps echo. Once he got to the door, he disappeared down the next corridor. Waluigi went next. He walked alongside the wall Brian did; only using his long stride to cover more travel distance. He got to the door with ease and disappeared. As soon as he did, the sarcophagus opened slowly. Bandaged fingers appeared around the edge of the door. I froze, mortified. An inhumane groan escaped the mummy's throat as he exited his sarcophagus. He staggered out, closing the door behind him.

"Luigi, snap out of it!" Brian hissed at me (we use the translators as walkie talkies), "Run! Get into the previous room and stay absolutely still."

I was too scared to respond to Brian; let alone move. The mummy looked around, and spotted me. He groaned again, and started walking towards me.

"Luigi!" Brian hissed.

He got closer. His walk was extremely slow. I could have easily outrun in if I weren't paralyzed in fear the way I was. I managed to back up a few steps, but I backed into the wall. I realized in sudden panic that I was trapped; I had backed too far away from the door that it would require me to get closer to the mummy in order to escape. I reminded myself to breathe, and the mummy let out another groan. I sank to my knees, fear completely taking over my body. I faced him, knowing that I had no chance of escaping.

"Hey, you big sack of bandages!" the mummy stopped his pursuit. He turned slowly, and groaned once again. "Yeah, I'm talking to you."

It started walking towards the other voice. Relief flooded me as I stood up. Unfortunately, I couldn't be thankful yet. A worse fear flooded me when I saw Daisy, standing in the middle of the hall.

"You're too slow. You can't catch me." Daisy poked fun.

Neither of us expected what happened next. Instead of continuing to walk towards her, he broke in an outright sprint! The groan became a frustrated shout; a scream for the desire of death. Somehow, I managed to get past the mummy, grab Daisy's wrist, and run towards the corridor.

"Never do that again." I spoke to her.

"Never get attacked by a mummy again." She responded. "Where are Brian and Waluigi?"

As we ran, we caught up with them. Daisy grabbed my hand again, and I held it firmly before releasing it. We continued running, and caught up with them easily.

"Luigi, what are you…" Waluigi started.

The mummy's scream cut him off.

"Run!" Daisy shouted. "Forget the Shroobs!"

We broke out into an outright run. The chase continued until we got to a fork. Waluigi and Brian went right, and Daisy and I went left. Unfortunately, so did the mummy. We continued to run, passing Shroobs as we did. They would look at us, confused, and then scream in terror as the mummy passed them. We went through the winding hallways, and all the sudden we met our fate with a wall. Daisy pounded the wall with her fists, trying to find a switch or something along those lines. The scream from the mummy stopped us. We both slowly turned to him, and he approached us slowly, returning to the slow, staggering walk. He groaned again as the bandages around his arms extended. I stepped in front of Daisy, not allowing the monster to get her. I felt her hands intertwine mine. More and more fabric fell from it, each end coming to life. A few went after me. The mummy groaned again, and I fought with the fabric to no avail. I was soon pinned to the wall diagonal from Daisy. I did everything I could to free myself, but I was as useless as a fish out of water. The scraps tightened against me, and I watched in horror as the monster got closer to Daisy.

"Princess…" it groaned at her.

She tried to fight, but the wraps got to her wrist before anything could happen. She tried to pull away, but she was against the wall, so she didn't have anywhere to go. She shouted as the wraps continued around her. I heard footfalls; Brian and Waluigi must have heard. The wrappings continued, and by this time it had gotten most of her lower torso and her arms. One of the wraps threw off her earpiece, and it continued up her. It had gotten everything but her head by now. She screamed at the top of her lungs. Daisy is no screamer. When she does, something terrible is about to happen. I fought harder than I ever had with the bonds, but I still couldn't break free.

"We…become…one…Princess…"

Before my eyes, the mummy deteriorated into dust. My bandages came loose, and I hit the ground. The dust swirled around Daisy, and she collapsed, the dust settling. I knelt down to her.

"Daisy…" I whispered. "Daisy…"

"By the looks of everything," I turned to see Waluigi. "She got herself cursed."

"Cursed!?"

"Afraid so. There is a way to lift the curse, however; though I don't think she will like it."

She moaned in pain and tried to sit up only to fall again. I held her in my arms, and she leaned against me. She tried to speak, but it only came out as a drawn out moan. I stiffened, but that was about it. I helped her stand up, and held her hands.

"We found a scroll while we were running." Brian said approaching us, holding the scroll in his hand. "It says that she has to sleep in a Mummy's Sarcophagus."

She shook her head no.

"Can't we just go back to the entrance with her?" I asked, "Or do we need to find a different one?"

"The one at the entrance is fine since there is no mummy in that one."

We stood up, and started forward. The silence was deafening. Brian lit a torch, and we managed to find our way back. Waluigi opened the sarcophagus, and gestured for her to get inside. She crossed her arms and shook her head.

"I'll handle this." I spoke lightly. "You two go on ahead and see if you can find Luma and Wendy."

They both nodded. As soon as they left, Daisy started to cry. I sat down on the ground, and gestured her by me. She sat in my lap, and sobbed quietly. We talked for a little bit (who knew the translator could translate mummy?) about her fears and regrets.

"It's my fault this happened." She spoke lightly. "I knew better than to come here…"

"Because the Shroobs?" I asked.

"Them too. I won't be the only Princess that has been killed by this curse. Sarasaland can't bear to lose another Princess. The 'sleeping in the sarcophagus' doesn't lift the curse."

"How do you know that?" I kissed her head. "I won't leave you here alone. I will sit right next to you all night."

"…really?"

"Well, I may stretch out and fall asleep, but I will stay none the less."

She laughed. "Okay…if you promised me."

She knows I am not the kind of man to go back on my word, so she stepped in. She turned around, and even crossed her arms the way a real mummy would. Before I closed the case, I gave her the earpiece back. I firmly closed the case and pinned it shut.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"A little claustrophobic." She answered.

I heard her begin to cry. I reached her bag, and pulled out the book she was reading. I opened to the page.

"Where did you leave off in A Diamond Kiss?" I asked.

"The beginning of that chapter." She responded. "Why?"

"The only thing I didn't understand was why she left me the way I was." I began to read. "I had done nothing wrong; she hurt me in a way no one else could…is she a lesbian?"

Daisy laughed. "No, her best friend left her. They got in an argument."

For the rest of the night, I read to her, trying to calm her down. The sad thing is I got into the book as well. I did voices for each of the characters. I finally got her to calm down enough that she got drowsy. She kindly asked for me to stop reading, and I did, replacing the bookmark on the new page. I pulled out one of the sleeping bags Waluigi packed, and stretched out on the hard stone floor. I spoke to Daisy about random things. She didn't respond, so I just rambled on. I think the sound of my voice reassured her that she wasn't in this fight alone, and I heard her breathing grow deeper and more relaxed. I stretched out next to the sarcophagus, and fell asleep to the sounds of the burning torches echoing off of the corridors.

* * *

_Author's Note: As far as I am concerned, __A Diamond Kiss__ does not exist. This entire chapter was inspired by events that happened to me in The Sims 3 (minus the curse part). The book was the one my Sim was writing while her Fiancé went through the Tomb and this happened. The only part I left out was that my Sim caught himself on fire when he tried to leave ._


	19. Chapter 19

"Luigi…" I woke up to Daisy calling my name through the headphone. "Luigi…are you awake?"

"Now." I responded yawning and sitting up. I looked at my watch. "Wait a couple more minutes, and then I will help you out, okay?"

"…that wasn't my question, but good to know. Are Brian and Waluigi with you?"

I looked around, but neither of them was to be found. "No."

"It has been almost 24 hours since we've seen them…"

After getting Daisy out of the sarcophagus and getting all the bandages off of her, we gathered out things. I went through the other two chests (since there was no longer the threat of a mummy coming to get us) and found gold pieces and jewelry. We headed into the Tomb once again. It didn't take us long to find where they last were counting that the ground was littered with dead Shroobs tossed this way and that. We got to the end of the hallway, and the room opened up to what looked at a spooky scientist room from those cheesy horror movies (that still scare me regardless of their cheesiness). The room was decorated with hieroglyphics, telling a story of a time before our own. There was a sarcophagus in the middle of the room, slightly tilting up thanks to the help of a few sand blocks. The casket was closed, the gold on the lid casting eerie lights everywhere the light danced.

I felt a hand settle on my shoulder, and I slightly turned to see Waluigi and Brian behind us. All four of us continued to watch the scene that suddenly decided to unfold in front of us. Fawful, in the same lab coat that he was in when I saw him in the Mushroom Kingdom, was pacing about the room. Every once in a while, a few words would reach our ears; mainly "chortles", "fury" and "fink-rats". He looked a tad worried; his smile was not as big and grand as usual. Princess Shroob was in the room, too. She was shouting, her words not understandable because the microphones couldn't pick up her voice enough to translate it for us. She was wearing a lab coat as well; the same design as Fawful. There were also Shroob Scientists in the room working with beakers with boiling liquids and charts that were beyond my thought capacity. One thing seemed out of place. There was one scientist that was too tall to be a Shroob; and this one was wearing shoes.

Then…it hit me.

"If we apply the power to only ten percent," Wendy's soft voice echoed off the corridor walls, "then the body will be able to ease into life. Would you like that now, or later?"

"Never." Luma's voice piped into my headphone.

"Wait, Dr. X." Princess Shroob responded. "I will let you know."

"What do we do?" Daisy asked.

"Nothing," Waluigi responded. "They've spotted us."

To my sick terror, Waluigi was right. A few Shroob guards came towards us, but Waluigi took them out with a few splashes of water. With confidence, Waluigi strode out, gesturing to us that we need to follow suit. With his hand still behind his back, he pointed at Daisy and I, and signed to us that we need to stay back. Daisy and I ducked deeper into the shadows of the hall as Brian walked out with Waluigi. He wasted no time; he pulled out a hand gun, and aimed at Fawful. Just before he could pull the trigger, Wendy screamed in pain, and grabbed the collar on her neck, tears stinging her eyes. She landed on her knees, and Brian placed the gun in his pocket once again. Princess Shroob released the button, and Wendy broke into a sob.

"Dr. X," Wendy immediately composed herself, stood up, and faced Princess Shroob. "Go to the Life Gauge, and increase it to ten percent; we are ready."

"There is nothing you can do now." Wendy spoke to Waluigi as she walked towards a machine in the middle of the room. She looked at Waluigi in a way I have never seen before. "Are Luigi and Daisy here?"

"Yes." Fawful joined in. "Are the Princess and Green 'Stache here?" Him too? I sighed, held Daisy's hand, and we walked in. "Ah, so good to see you, Princess. I see that you are a lot less hairy then when Fawful last met you."

I was going to say a smart-ass comment, but the sounds of the machine coming to life stopped me. Electricity flowed through the cords like air through our bodies. It came like a heartbeat. The cords led to the sarcophagus, and each time the electricity reached it, the door would slightly move. At each pulse, it would quake worse than the last. Eventually, the door flew off to reveal that the cords were firmly planted onto the body of a mummy. His arms were crossed, and unlike the other mummy, his face was completely wrapped. There were no eye holes, and his fingers were not individually wrapped; his hands were clinched into fists and the bandages were wrapped around them. The electricity that pulsed through the cords now pulsed into the body. Softly, the mummy began to breathe.

"He has come!" Fawful cheered.

"Turn off the power, Doctor." Princess Shroob commanded.

Wendy obeyed, and the body collapsed to the ground. The man caught himself mid-fall, and was kneeling, trying to steady his breathing. Carefully, Fawful unbound his fists to reveal white gloves underneath. The person shifted his fingers slightly, and began to move them like he were playing a piano. After a couple of minutes, the mummy stood up.

Waluigi, Brian and Daisy sprang into action then. The men attacked with all they had, and Daisy went to tare the collar off of Wendy. It was a short-lived fight, and soon Daisy and Wendy were sprinting out of the tomb. Waluigi ran off after them, and Brian picked off a few more Shroobs before he ran off as well. I turned to pursue them, but what Fawful said made me stop.

"How do you feel, my son?" Fawful whispered to the mummy.

"Son?" I asked turning around. "You brainwashed a mummy?"

Fawful laughed a hard laugh. "Do you recognize that voice, my son?"

It nodded, a sound of rage emitting from his throat. He stood up, and slowly began to unwrap his head piece. As the pieces fell from his head to the ground, fear plagued my mind and body. I started to step back (out the door this time) as the last scrap of cloth fell from his face. He smiled a weak and tired smile, but it was still filled with as much evil as if he didn't just come back to life.

"Hello, Mother." His voice sounded as if he had been alive and never died.

"Impossible…" I managed to speak. "No…this can't be…How are you…?" I was at a complete loss of words.

"You saw it before your very eyes. I was brought back to life. It is as simple as that, no?" he spoke with the strength that frightened me even more. "You are not the only one who gets second chances."

I don't know if it was because I was in denial of it all, or that I wanted out of there, but I turned on my heel and sprinted as hard and fast as I possibly could. His laughter echoed through the corridors, chasing me and severing the last of my nerves.

Man, I am going to have nightmares from this.

I got out of the Temple in one piece, and I didn't stop running until I got back to the base camp that Waluigi Brian and I stayed at before entering the Temple the day before. Once there, I proceeded to jump into a barrel. It was conveniently placed where I could jump in. I placed the lid firmly on, and proceeded to cry louder and harder than I ever have in my life. I curled into a ball and wailed. I felt the barrel I was in be carried into a tent, but whoever did it had no intention of trying to get me to come out of the barrel.

Good; I had no intentions of getting out.

"Mama…" Luma's voice called to me through a hole in the barrel. "Can Luma come in?"

I opened the lid slightly, and Luma flew in with me. His light comforted me, but not even his kindness would help me now. I was in too much of a mess to try to calm down. He stayed with me, holding my hands and saying that I was the best Mama in the world. I cried harder; more of guilt than of fear.

"Luigi, sweetheart." Daisy called to me. "Can you come out?"

"No." I responded sharply. "I am safe here."

"Safe?" she sounded concerned. "Safe from what?"

"Mr. L…"


	20. Chapter 20

Have I mentioned how much I love Daisy? Instead of interrogating me about it, she opened the lid of the barrel, and stuffed it with sleeping bags and pillows. Instead of making me get out and walk, I was allowed to cry openly as I got rolled back to the Beanbean Kingdom. Yes, rolled. She actually took the time to roll the barrel from the Temple of Sand to the Beanbean Kingdom. No one asked about it; and no one talked about it. If I closed my eyes, it felt like I was rocking in a cradle or on a ship rather than rolling in circles. I think I fell asleep at one point, because all the sudden I was disoriented. I know for a fact that Luma fell asleep next to his Mama. He opened his little eyes, emitting a soft glow in the process. He managed to get to my pocket, and pulled out the small bag with the cookies I had packed. He pulled one out and handed it to me. As I took it lightly, he grabbed a second one, snuggled next to me, and munched away on it. I ate mine slowly, trying not to get chocolate on anything other than my fingers. After the short snack, Luma nuzzled up to his Mama, and I almost fell asleep again. The motion stopping made me wake up. Someone knocked on the barrel.

"I'm going to flip you over so I can get the sleeping stuff, okay?" Brian spoke lightly. "Do you want to come out as well?"

"Where are we?" I asked suddenly adjusting to the light as Brian opened the lid.

"Back at Beanbean. Mario is really worried about you since you came home in a barrel and not strong and proud as you usually have during this adventure."

"Have you told anyone…?"

"None of us have said a peep. If anyone did, they would demand answers to questions we couldn't answer. Would you like to come out?" Slowly, I stood up, and Brian helped me out of the barrel. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go for it."

"Waluigi and I were trying to figure out what spooked you so bad. We asked Daisy, but she didn't budge. After pestering her for an hour, she finally said that you saw something that scared you; that it was something she and Waluigi have dealt with before. Waluigi fell silent, and now no one will tell me anything. Can you fill me in?"

I shook my head. "I will fill everyone in at the same time. But I do have something to give you." I pulled out the few coins and jewelry that I had in my pocket, "These were in the last two chests in the Mummy's Tomb; the one Daisy got cursed at. They will do you more good than they ever would me."

Brian smiled, "You found that yourself, Capt'n. One of the very first rules of being a pirate is to never give away your treasure or let it go. I lost mine when I was but a little boy with a big dream."

"How much did you lose?"

Brian shook his head. "I can't place a price on it. Nothing can bring it back. Part of it is now buried and resting peacefully." I gave him a confused look. "My mother. She died when I was young. My sister ran off as well. Being alone with my Dad was not the most pleasant experience since everything around me was being taken away. I ran into Captain Syrup, and she took me in, and I felt like I was her son."

"That explains the connection you had with her."

"Yeah…had." The anger filled his eyes again.

"The other part…?"

"My sister."

"I promise you, Brian; once this nightmare ends, Mario and I will help you find her. It is the least we can do after all the help you have given us."

"Thanks, Luigi; I mean it."

For the first time since I met the man, Brian hugged me. It was kind of weird, being hugged by a pirate. But I know now why he didn't act like all the other pirates out there; he was on a treasure hunt without a crew. After we parted, Rose came up, and asked if I was okay. I responded that I was hanging in there, and that I might hide in the barrel again if I needed to. She laughed, and said that Mario wanted to talk to me. I thanked her, and started to walk away. I noticed that there was something different about Brian then. I didn't have time to think about it, though.

"Are you alright?" Mario asked as I made my way into the small office that was off to the side of the bedroom Peach and he were sharing.

"Fine for now; can't guarantee that I won't hide in a barrel again." I sat down next to him. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Mario sighed. "Luigi, I want to talk to you about what you saw in the Temple." My face drained. "I know about the mummy that cursed Daisy; she filled me in on that. I have already spoken with Waluigi and just got done talking to Brian…"

"I don't want to!" I cut him off.

"Luigi, listen." He took my hands. "On my computer are a camera and a microphone. All I want you to do is just talk to me. The camera and microphone will do their jobs; record what you have to say about your last adventure. I don't want to stick you in the middle of the Conference Room and tell you what to say. You can go at your own pace, and not even know that they are recording."

"Is this a live feed?"

"It is, indeed." Peasley responded from the computer. "No one wanted to put you on the spot because, according to the other three, you were pretty spooked."

"So you just tell me everything first, then we can ask questions later, okay?" Mario offered. I nodded. "Good; start when you are ready."

I took a deep breath, "It started when we found Fawful…"

* * *

It took a good amount of time to explain everything, but it was well worth it. When I got to the part that the mummy Fawful was working on was Mr. L, I wasn't allowed to say who it was until Mario and I got into the Conference Room. I was an emotional mess; his face was ingrained within my memory. When I had said it was L, everyone's reactions were different. Daisy and Waluigi already knew, so they didn't do much. Luma screamed in terror and hid under my hat. Wendy nodded, saying she expected something along those lines because of how watchful Fawful and the Princess were about her. Poor Brian had no idea who we were talking about. Rosalina held my hand in a comforting gesture (she's not a woman of many words). Peasley and the Queen were not pleased, and Rose's face drained.

"This is not good…" Mario spoke after I was done. "Not good in the least bit."

"That's not it, though." Wendy spoke after everyone was done digesting the information I gave them. "That's not the grand plan."

"Doesn't Princess Shroob want to rule the Mushroom Kingdom?" Rosalina asked.

Wendy nodded. "There is a grand plan about three rulers co-ruling the three Kingdoms; Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland and Beanbean. Mr. L wants Sarasaland, and Princess Shroob wants the MK."

"But, who wants Beanbean?" Peach asked. A wave of nausea hit me. I covered my face with my hands, trying to swallow it back as much as I could. "Luigi…?"

I closed my eyes, trying not to lose my stomach. I felt Mario catch me. "Breathe slowly." I heard him say to me. After fighting my stomach acid for a few minutes, I opened my eyes, and faced Mario.

"It makes sense." I whispered.

"What does?"

"Mama?" Luma flew in. "Mama okay?"

"Luma." I faced him. "Can you tell us what happened while you were there?"

"With Mr. Smiley Man?" I nodded. He closed his eyes, and then reopened them. "Well, after Luma got grabbed, Luma was in cage. Other Lumas there, too. Purple Things talk; talk about their Mama. Talk about how to bring Mama back."

"Mama back?" Peasley asked, "Isn't Princess Shroob their Mother?"

I watched as Mario's face drained. He finally made the connection.

"…Shit." Mario whispered.

"What happened to the other Lumas?" Rosalina asked.

"Others? Luma no know. Luma got away at first chance, ran into Nice Doctor Lady, and stayed with her. Not seen other Lumas since."

"Mario…" Peach spoke. She approached him, and he stood up. "Is it…Princess Shroob?"

"She's already here, honey." The Queen answered.

Mario shook his head. "We need to stop that revival, no matter the cost!"

Peach lost her balance, and Mario caught her mid-fall. He set her down in his lap. She blinked a few times, trying to recompose herself.

"Then…it's her." She spoke lightly. "…the other Princess Shroob?"

"Wait…the _other_ Princess Shroob?" Brian asked.

I nodded. "The Princess Shroob we know has an older sister. Fawful and the younger Princess must be trying to revive her so that she can rule Beanbean."

Silence filled the room.

"Is there any way to counter it?" Rose asked, "Like a counter curse or whatnot?"

"A counter curse…" Mario mused. "A counter curse…"

"I know just the man to go to." Brian exclaimed.

Peasley advised that it would be best for all of us to go meet this man so he gets the whole story and that no part becomes left out; that every detail should be explained as thorough as possible. Everyone agreed with him, and all of us (Luma was in my hat again), walked out of the Beanbean Castle, praying that Brian knew what he was doing.


	21. Chapter 21

After leaving the Beanbean Kingdom via boat, I was standing next to the wheel of the ship Brian (somehow) had got his hands on. As we sailed across the aqua ocean, the breeze was soft and gentle. I closed my eyes, relaxing and taking deep breaths of the sea. I reopened my eyes, and saw Rose walking across the deck towards us.

"Brian." She spoke to him, "Do you know where you are going?"

"Yes." He calmly responded. "We're nearly there."

A white tower loomed over the horizon. The closer we sailed to it, the more familiar it felt to me. Mario started to react, too. He stopped whatever he was doing and faced the tower. His posture straightened, and the expression on his face that was once filled with happiness became stone. He walked up to the front of the ship, resting his hand on the front mast. I came up to him on the other side, my face expression turning grave as well. Peach came up as well, and as we got closer to the white tower, her expression turned serious. We all stood there for a minute, understanding what was going on. Mario and Peach went below deck to warn the others that we were at our location. I returned to Brian.

"Do you know this place?" he asked.

I nodded. "We are going to the White Tower, yes? Or are we going to the Black Tower?"

"It is the White one. The man I am talking you to lives next to it. Is it safe to assume that you know him, as well?"

"It is; along with Mario and Peach."

"Well, what have we to lose?"

"Brian," Rose's voice was concerned, "how do you know him?"

* * *

Who knew that Flipside had a port? Maybe it was newly installed…I didn't see it when I was here last. Now that I think about it, I didn't _see_ much of Flipside when I was here last. We all stepped off of the ship, and the man Brian was looking for was waiting for us at the entrance of the town. He greeted us, and we all walked towards his house. When we got there, it was apparent that he got some work done; it had expanded and now everyone could fit into it. The thought of everyone trying to fit into his little house frightened me a tad.

"It's good to see you, Brian." The old man spoke, "How is the pirate life?"

"It's done for now." He responded anger filling his voice.

"Now, now; no need for the frustration. I got your letter about Syrup." He turned to Mario," Ah, it is good to see you again, Legendary Hero."

"Same to you, Merlin." He responded.

He acknowledged Peach and I, and got right down to business. We all took turns explaining everything we knew; with each of us filling in gaps that the others missed. When we got to the arrival of Mr. L; everyone fell silent. I took a deep breath, and watched as Merlin's composure fell when I spoke about him. After explaining everything, I went into detail about how he became in the first place; talking about the Dark Seed and Fawful. He was standing up for most of the story, but he sat down by the time we started talking about the plan to revive the elder Princess Shroob.

"I feared that this would happen…" he whispered more to himself than to us. "How long has he been released? The second time."

"Umm…" I mused a few seconds. "Only a few days."

"Then there is nothing we can do. The issue is that Mr. L is too weak to do anything at the moment that would impact the rate of the Revival. So there is nothing that we can do at this moment in time."

"Wait a second." Daisy cut him off, "so we can't do anything?" Merlin nodded. "…we have to _wait_?"

"Unfortunately so, Princess of Sarasaland. The Revival can't be stopped without him. It has already started; it started when L came back to life in the casket. We have to wait until L is strong enough to control the Revival Process on his own."

"No." the force that came from Wendy startled us all. "We can't wait for him to get stronger; he will overpower us all. He was pretty strong when he was revived. Fawful and Princess Shroob are not taking things lightly. They want her revived; no matter the cost. We can't sit here and do nothing; innocent Lumas will be slaughtered if we do!"

Rosalina's face drained and Luma hid in my hat.

"I understand your frustration, Dr. X," Merlin spoke cautiously "but there is really nothing we can do."

"…at all?" Rose spoke.

Merlin nodded.

"Then we should use this time wisely." Peasley spoke up. "We won't waste time at all! We can all practice our magic and sword play. Devising a plan of action for when Mr. L is strong is a must. Like Merlin said; there is nothing we can do _directly_. But that doesn't mean we just sit, twiddle our thumbs, and watch the world collapse around us. We must train; we must plan; and we must believe not only in each other but within ourselves. If we do not believe in ourselves, then we fail in others believing in you.

"That is the last thing we need! We all have our own struggles and inner fights: an example is that I had to leave my Kingdom to the hands of evil. I know deep inside that they are depending on me. If I can't believe in myself, then they, in turn, can't believe in me. Princess Peach and Daisy have that same fight: they have to believe; or they can kiss their Kingdoms good-bye. We would all have to kiss our old lives good-bye and be forced to join a life of forced labor and shock collars. I know for sure that I don't want to watch my people fall to that fate; or any of you for that matter. We must help one another to build our strength to fight for what is right; there is no other option."

Silence filled the room. No one had anything to say. Peasley was right: we have to fight our own battles before we can fight the big one in the future. It will make us stronger; it had to. If it didn't work…I shuddered at the thought.

"He's right." Rosalina spoke softly. "We have to fight this fight not only for us, and not only for the Kingdoms…but the people around us."

"I feel that we all need to tell one another the battle that needs to be done before the big fight with Fawful." The Queen added.

That was that. Merlin agreed, and decided that we should be in groups of three. The groups were: Mario Peach Daisy, me Peasley Rose, Wendy the Queen Rosalina, and Luma Waluigi Brian. Not only that, we all decided to go into different locations so we could talk in private. My group went to the top of Flipside Tower. The other groups received their locations after we left. I took the lead, stepping on the elevator and holding it open for the other two passengers. Rose thanked me, and Peasley brushed his hand against my face as he entered. I rolled my eyes, and allowed the door to close.

"Oh, darn Luigi." Peasley flirted with me. "Rose is here…I wanted some alone time…"

"Well, you can have it while Rose and I are talking." I spoke smashing his flirtatious move. "We need to be focused on the task at hand. And I am _straight_, Peasley."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes I am."

"He has a witness, too." Rose added softly.

"It may be a phase…"

The door opened, and the first person out was Rose. She grabbed my hand and dragged me out with her.

"How can you allow him to talk to you like that?" she asked soft enough for Peasley not to hear.

I shrugged. "He finds it entertaining to freak me out. Let's not gossip; let's focus on the task at hand."

Rose nodded, and Peasley joined us. We sat down in a circle (or a triangle), and the silence drifted over us like a blanket. Rose opened her pack, and pulled out a red and white checkered blanket. She asked us to back up, and she spread it out. She also brought out a few plastic cups and big thermos (like one you would carry soup in) the size of the interior of the backpack.

"Tea?" she offered.

"You are addicted to it, Rose." Peasley spoke as she filled his cup. "Better than other stuff, I guess." She nodded, and filled my glass. "What kind is it?"

"Green tea sweetened with peach." She answered softly.

"Do you want to go first, Rose?" I asked her. "It seems you have a lot on your mind.

She shook her head.

"I knew it: you love Luigi." Peasley teased.

Rose and I made eye contact, smiled, and she giggled. Peasley was confused.

"Don't worry about it." I said to him. I returned my attention to Rose. "Tell me: what's the matter?"

She shook her head again.

"Would you rather me go first?" Peasley offered. She nodded. "Let's see…I already explained the fact about leaving my Kingdom. So I'm in the clear, right?"

"That's not really a personal fight, Peasley." I answered. "That's more political."

He sighed. "Fine. Let's get this ball rolling, shall we?" he paused. "I want to be in a relationship; a relationship like Luigi has with his sweetheart. I want someone to call my own, but it is hard because I am so popular."

Rose and I covered our eyes.

"No, I'm not flipping my hair." We removed our hands. "I'm being serious."

"I can understand where you are coming from, Peasley." I spoke. "You want someone to love you for you, and not for your royalty or popularity." He nodded.

"And you are afraid of the publicity and bad reputation you would receive if you found a boyfriend?" Rose asked.

Another nod. Tears filled his eyes. I handed him Daisy's handkerchief. He dried his eyes, and handed it back to me, stating that he'd feel bad if it he soaked it.

"Peasley; someone will come to you in time. I know it." Rose soothed.

"Absolutely." I encouraged "If I can find a girlfriend who can tolerate my fear of the dark and ghosts; you can find a boyfriend who will love you for your personality and smile."

He smiled softly (so he didn't blind us). "Thank you, both of you." He drank the tea from his cup, trying to calm down.

"Take the drink slowly." Rose instructed, "It is used to help your nerves slow down."

He nodded. "Who is next?"

Rose pulled out a candy bar from her bag.

"Rose." She looked at me in shock. I held my hand out. "After you go, okay?"

After a few moments, she set the chocolate in my hand. I set it in my lap.

"Why is it bad that she eats chocolate?" Peasley asked.

"What's on your mind?" I asked Rose while ignoring Peasley's question.

"My father." She whispered. "…he's gone."

A moment of silence passed through all of us.

"You seem to be handling it better than most women your age would." Peasley spoke softly. "Losing family is a hard thing to deal with. At least you still have Wendy, yes?"

Rose nodded. "True, but that's not the problem."

"Then…what?"

"My mother; she has no idea about it. Just the thought of her finding out…"

I have no idea who moved faster: Peasley or myself. We both reached for her, and held her hand. I pulled out the handkerchief again, and offered it to her. She pulled away from my hands, and buried her face in the cloth. There was a few beats of uncertainty, then Peasley spoke after Rose calmed down.

"Rose; allow me to make you a Royal Promise. After this is all said and done, I will personally escort you and your sister to where your mother is. Not only that, I will be there for you when you have to break the news to her."

"I will be there as well, Rose." I added as she nodded. "I'm sure the entire group will help you and Wendy out."

"You have our word."

Rose took the time to hug each one of us. She hugged Peasley first (he was caught off guard). She hugged me. She leaned her chin on my shoulder.

"I need to talk to you after this." She whispered to me. "I want to admit my _real_ confession." I nodded as we parted. "You're turn, Luigi."

"Is it about you and Daisy?" Peasley teased. "Because it seems that we are all talking about relationships."

I shook my head. "I believe where we are is at a good spot. We are also going at a good rate, too; I'm happy as long as she is. The only thing that concerns me is the revival of L. I know that is the big picture, but I am looking at it from a different angle. What I am looking at is what he will do when he is not working on the big picture; either after it is done or if he decides to come and harass us again."

"What good can he do now?" Rose asked. "He's too weak."

"Besides," Peasley spoke, "He can't get to us here. We are in the dimension between dimensions. He can't find us here."

I nodded. "I think this was a very good idea, Peasley." He flipped his hair and Rose and I weren't prepared. We both were blind for a few seconds.

"Let's go on back." Peasley concluded.

We both nodded. As I stood up, I handed Rose her chocolate bar. She took a piece off, and placed it in her mouth, allowing it to dissolve. We regrouped with everyone else, and Merlin decided that it would be best if we all told the other groups what we talked about. Peach spoke of the loss of her Kingdom. Daisy was worried about me (how sweet of her). Mario was too powerless to do anything. Rosalina feared for the Lumas. Brian spoke of what the future would hold for him since Syrup backed out. The Queen, like Peach, was afraid for her Kingdom. Waluigi wants to move out of the apartment he and Wario have to share. Wendy can't pursue her career due to her Dad's death. When it was Luma's turn, he sat on Waluigi's shoulder in silence.

"That's what happened." Waluigi explained. "He didn't say anything."

"Nothing to say." Luma spoke softly. "Everything going wrong for Luma. Luma come for Mama Luigi, and only thing that happens is trouble. Maybe Luma go back…"

"No." Mario was the first to speak. "Luma stay here for Mama. Mama and Uncle Mar-Mar miss Luma."

"Flower and Pretty girl will as well." Peach added.

Everyone spoke about how they would miss him if he went.

"But…but…Luma want to be Star. Luma no want to be Luma."

"If Luma were a Star." Waluigi spoke as he showed him a cookie, "Luma can't eat cookies."

Silence. He nodded, thanking everyone for their help and nibbled on the cookie that Waluigi had in his hand.

"I believe that we got a lot done this evening." Merlin spoke softly. "It may not seem like it, but this is actually building your teamwork. I plan on you warriors on having meetings like this every few days. Hold nothing back towards one another; it will make you stronger."

After that, we were assigned different sleeping arrangements. I was in the Inn with Rose.

"Luigi, wait." Rose said grabbing my hand. "Is there anywhere that we can go where…we can talk in private?"

"Yeah, we can." I responded. "We can go down to the first floor and talk by the water's edge. How does that sound?"

Rose and I went down to the first floor, and I held her hand as we got to the edge. She pulled out her picnic blanket, and we sat down. Instead of sitting across from each other like we did in the meeting, she gestured to me, asking silently if she could sit closer to me. I nodded, and I allowed her to sit in my lap. She leaned against my chest, and I held her. We sat in silence for a few minutes; listening to the water crashing on the edge of the shoreline.

"Luigi…" she whispered to me, "I'm in trouble. I think…I think I am in love."


	22. Chapter 22

I really didn't know what to say. I didn't know if she wanted me to answer, either. The waves continued to crash into the sea as I felt her tears soak my gloves.

"Didn't we have this discussion already?" I asked after a few moments.

"Yes, but this is for a different man."

"So…it is Mario, then?" I joked.

She laughed a little. "No. I don't really know when it started. This morning, I was just fine; practicing my sword technique with Peasley. After the lesson, Brian asked if I would spare with him. I agreed, and we danced around for a tad.

"Then, something weird happened. I won, but that wasn't the odd thing. We shook hands afterwards…and for some reason I felt safe."

"Well, he cares for you." I answered. "So does Peasley. I feel safe around Brian, too."

"Not that way, Luigi. I mean…" she took a deep breath. "Ever since I met him on Syrup's ship, I've felt safe with him. Syrup would yell at me, demanding the location of the Scroll of Ice. Back then, I had no idea what she was talking about. I clearly explained that, but she still didn't believe me. Before she could do anything to me, Brian appeared. He explained everything, and took care of me since."

"Rose, are you scared of falling in love with Brian?" she nodded, pressing against me. "There is no reason to be."

"But I'm afraid that he isn't real; that this is just an act."

"Just because it happened to her doesn't mean it will happen to you."

"What should I do?"

I sighed. "Let's…just see what happens, okay? Maybe I could sit in and watch one of your lessons with Brian, and see if I see anything from him."

She nodded. "Thanks, Luigi; I mean it."

She stood up, and we returned to the second floor of Flipside. Just like Rose and I, everyone had no intention of going to bed just yet. Mario and Peach were…well, being Mario and Peach. To my surprise, Waluigi and Wendy were sitting next to each other, talking softly to one another. That wasn't the shocking thing; it was the shock that Waluigi was resting his hand on hers. Rose smiled at Wendy, and she smiled back to us. A silent communication went between the sisters, and that was it. Brian and Peasley were sparring calmly, and Daisy was watching them as she chatted with Rosalina and the Queen.

Brian walked over to Rose, and offered a sparring match. She agreed, and went to her room to retrieve her short sword. Brian changed his out so his wasn't longer than hers. A couple of minutes later, they were dancing around each other as they were gently clashing their swords. I sat down next to Peasley and watched the session with interest. I never really noticed how well a sword fight flows until now. Even though they both had determination etched on her faces, I could tell that they really cared for each other.

"I didn't know you had an interest in sword play, Luigi." Peasley said.

"I have an interest in something else."

A slight pause. "I thought you said you were straight."

"I am; I need to watch Brian, though."

"Why?"

The swordplay had stopped, and the two fighters shook hands.

"I see it." Peasley whispered. "He likes her."

I nodded. They two walked over towards us. I nodded slightly at Rose, and her eyes suddenly filled with fear.

"Rose…" Brian spoke lightly. "Is everything alright?"

She nodded too quickly, ducked her head and sped walked to the Inn she was staying at.

"She just has a lot on her mind." I reassured Brian. "She'll be alright soon enough. Maybe after all of this drama and terrible stuff has come to an end she'll talk."

"What did she talk about in the Circle?"

"How she is going to tell her Mom about her Dad's death." Peasley calmly stated. "She was pretty worked up about it."

"I see." His voice was filled with suspicion.

"Would you like me to walk over there with you?" I offered. He nodded again, and I escorted him over to the Inn. Lightly, I knocked on the door. "Rose; it's me. Can I come in?"

"Come on in." she answered softly.

Oh god; she's crying.

"Rose." Brian spoke as we entered. "Do you want to talk about it; your dad, I mean."

She nodded, and all he had to do was offer a hand to her. She took it, and all the sudden burst into tears. Brian pulled her into his arms, and held her gently as she bawled out of fear and sadness. I turned, and started to leave.

"Luigi…" she sobbed. I faced her. "…please…please don't leave me. Not now."

I nodded, and sat down on my bed. She calmed down after a short tad, and faced Brian.

"Brian." Rose started. "I need to talk to you."

He shook his head. "You don't need to, Rose. You don't need to say anything. Losing family is hard."

She shook her head. "That's not it, Brian."

He sat her down on the side of the bed, and sat down next to her. "Then…what is it?"

Silence.

"Rose, you don't need to be scared. You can tell me anything." The silence continued. She couldn't make eye contact with him. "Is it…Waluigi?"

"What?" both Rose and I chorused.

He laughed. "I knew that would get your attention. What I am saying is: are you jealous of Wendy because she has Waluigi now? And that you don't have anyone?"

"I have Luigi." She whispered.

"I don't think Daisy will be too happy about that, though." I answered laughing.

Brian smiled at this. "Rose…are you jealous of her?"

"No." she answered. "I'm not. Why?"

Brian suddenly looked at her in a way I have never seen before. It wasn't shock or terror; it was…different. I knew this look; I give it to Daisy when we are alone. I stood up quietly, and slipped out of the room. I felt a smile and a happiness fill my heart as I left the two of them alone. Before I left, I managed to see Brian tenderly kiss Rose.

That smile that I had on my face was soon wiped away when I almost slammed into Mario. The concern on his face and the frustration in his eyes smite all hope that I had for them.

"What's wrong, bro?" I asked softly.

"A lot of things." He answered me. His voice was grave. "There has been reported sighting of Mr. L."

I felt the blood in my face drain.

"But…" I was at a complete loss of words. "But _how_?"

"We need to keep everyone inside."

"No." I fired off. "We all need to get to Merlin's place. He would know what to do."

Mario shook his head. "Merlin's gone."

Terror flooded me. "…gone?"

He nodded again. "He's gone; just like Derik X. None of us could help Merlin." Tears flooded my eyes. "He didn't suffer, though. L was demanding your location, and when he didn't tell him, he was killed on the spot. Even if we had prepared ahead of time, no one could have saved Merlin."

"But…why me?"

My brother shrugged. "The only thing I know is that we are no longer safe in Flipside. L is taking no chances with this."

"We need to -"

"There is nothing you can do."

I was so scared that I couldn't scream. I felt someone wrap their arms around me. I couldn't fight back; the terror paralyzed me. It was quite the effort just to breathe. Mario tried to pull me away, but a wall of dark green flames cut him off. I heard the sound of a knife being revealed, and I felt the cold blade touch my neck.

"This is the end for you." The voice whispered in my ear. "Don't scream; you will die."

Tears fell from my eyes and I started trembling. I closed my eyes, trying anything I could to calm myself even for a little bit. I felt his grip tighten against me and the blade press deeper into my throat. The flames died, and I opened my eyes to see everyone behind Mario. Each person had fear in their eyes.

"If anyone moves, he dies." L hissed.

Right after he spoke those words, Luma flew up to L.

"No, Luma." I whispered. "Go back."

"Leave Mama alone." He piped. "What Mama do to you?"

I felt L smirk. "I'll let your Mama go."

"Catch."

He laughed. "You're a smart little one, aren't you? Come with me, and Mama won't get hurt, alright?"

"Don't!" Rosalina shouted.

"But Mama…" Luma began to cry. He turned to L. "Leave. No want you here. You mean. Leave. Let Mama go."

There were a few moments of dead silence.

"Fine." He spoke.

He released me, and I hit the ground, clutching my throat. When I felt no blood, I relaxed on the ground. I took deep gulping breaths. I heard his haunting laugh, and his shadow disappeared. I sat up, and clutched Luma tight and hard. He purred and started to glow. I spun around in time to see a dark portal appear. I backed a few feet away to where Mario and the rest were, and L reappeared; this time he wasn't alone.

"Things will not be easy for you now." He hissed.

He trusted his arm out, and suddenly Luma was starting to pull away from me. He cried out for me, and I held him hard…harder than I ever have before. Due to L's strength, I started moving with Luma. I suddenly felt Mario's arms hold me, trying to fight against L's magic. The other person (who was in a cloak) held up his hand, and an orb of pure darkness emerged on his gloved fingertips. As the cloaked figure pointed it at me, I shut my eyes tight. Luma was crying out of fear. He screamed, and Mario fell on top of me as Luma was torn from my grip. I automatically jumped up, and was soon fighting with Mario, trying to get my Luma back. The cloaked figure shot the orb at us, and it struck home. Both of us went flying back towards the group.

"Stupid mustaches!" the cloak was torn off and Fawful revealed himself. "Hairs like the dirty tail from the horse in a barn built a farmer who is crazy!"

I fell into hysterics. "Please!" I begged. "Give me Luma!"

The darkness started to envelop L and Luma. I screamed out loud, trying anything I could to save my precious Luma. He cried harder, and I was still screaming. L's laugh pierced through both of us, and the darkness dissipated. I covered my face with my hands and bawled. I heard Mario run towards Fawful, but heard him bounce off the force field. I felt myself being lifted, and Fawful was holding me in the air with magic.

"Pathetic." He barked at me. "You are nothing but a big baby."

He dropped me, and I curled into the ball on my side, still sobbing.

"Leave him alone!" Daisy shouted. I felt her sit me up and hold me.

"He is nothing but an extra shade of darkness for his brother's shadow. He has no strength. Nothing."

"That's not true!" Waluigi fired off. "He has a lot more than you."

"Does he?"

"He has us!"

"More than you will ever have." Peasley spoke standing next to Daisy (I saw his shadow).

"What good are all of you?" Fawful asked. "No matter. Fawful has more world domination to attend to."

With that, I heard him vanish. I had calmed down a little, and opened my eyes to see everyone around me. Daisy held me closer, and somehow I was sitting on her lap. Peasley knelt down to my height, and asked if I were alright. I nodded, still trying to get a hold of my nerves.

"We'll get Luma back." Rosalina reassured me. "I know it."

I nodded again. "Are we strong enough?"

Mario nodded. "I know for a fact that you are, Luigi. You can be hardheaded sometimes. In this case, it is a good thing. I know that nothing will stop you from getting Luma back in your arms."

"As well as saving the world from Fawful and his minions." Rose added.

"Thank you." I spoke softly as I stood up. "All of you."

"Let's go get Luma back!" Brian cheered.

Everyone gave a hearty, pirate-y response, and we made our way towards the boat.


	23. Chapter 23

Instead of heading back to Beanbean, it was decided that we should stop closer to the Mushroom Kingdom. We all boarded the ship again, and set sail in that general direction. The loss of Merlin was still weighing heavily on everyone's shoulders, but it added more of a purpose to the fight. I was leaning against one of the masts, allowing the sea breeze to move across my body and through my hair. My eyes were closed, and my mind was wandering. I felt someone sit down beside me, and rest a hand on mine. I opened my eyes slightly, and Wendy smiled softly to me. I closed my eyes again, allowing my mind to wander freely like the wind.

"Are you thinking about anything in particular?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I'm mainly just trying to keep my mind off of the fact that Luma is in the hands of Mr. L and whoever he is working with."

"I see." A few seconds of silence passed. "Luigi; can I ask you something?"

"You just did." I opened my eyes and faced her.

She sighed. "How is your scar?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "It hasn't been bugging me the past few days. Why?"

"I just wanted to check on you."

"Are you sure? It seems to me that something else is bugging you."

She shook her head. "I just fear that L will aim for your scar when he is fighting with you. Hypothetically speaking, it is the weakest part of your body and it will allow him to give you a quick and painless death."

"That's always reassuring."

"Thus, why I have this for you." Wendy handed me a small breast plate. Once again, I cocked an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes. "It fits under your shirt, and it is thin enough that no one can see its bulkiness underneath."

"Would you like me to put it on now?"

When she nodded, I rolled my eyes. Taking the hunk of metal from her hands, I stood up and entered the interior of the ship we were sailing on. I quickly entered the room I was sharing with Mario, and closed the door behind me. Rolling my shoulders, I took a deep breath and undid the snaps on my overalls. As I did so, I walked over to the little changing wall and continued among my business.

"Is there something wrong, Luigi?" Mario asked me.

"I'm fine." I responded.

"You don't sound it. Talk to me, bro."

"No; I'm fine."

I felt his concern in the air. As I pulled off my shirt, I felt tears sting my eyes. Trying to hold them back, I lifted up the plate, and looked at it for a few seconds. I raised it above my head, looking through it.

"There should be a clasp on the side." Mario spoke softly trying not to upset me.

I returned it to my height, and I saw the clasp he was talking about. It came undone with a loud _CLANG_ and it made Mario and I jump a few inches.

"Umm…" I whispered.

Mario caught my drift. I saw him stand up and approach me. I handed him the plate, and he held it open while I slid into it.

"This feels inhumane." I said as it snapped closed.

"Better than death, I guess." Mario added stepping back. "How does it feel?"

"Like a metal t-shirt." I rolled my shoulders, and the metal on them rolled with me. I pulled my shirt back on, and returned to my normal attire. I faced my brother, and my eyes filled with tears again. He looked at me in concern, and handed me Daisy's handkerchief. Smiling softly, I took it from him and dabbed my eyes. I eventually just covered my face with it, trying not to cry out loud. I felt my brother usher me to his bed, and sit me down. He wrapped his arm around me, telling me that everything would be alright. I leaned against his shoulder, soaking in his comforting words. I pulled my hands away from my face, and took a few deep breaths before deciding to speak.

"Mario." My voice quivered. "I'm scared."

"Of what?" he asked wiping a tear from my face.

"Everything. They're too strong. There's no way I can save Luma; let alone the Kingdoms. I just feel…so useless. Powerless. Like…I can't do anything anymore." I faced him. "I need to be strong in a time where no strength is possible. People like Rose, Wendy, Rosalina and Brian depend on me. They look for a leader to look up to. Peasley didn't have that strength, so they looked towards me. I had to be strong for Luma…but I didn't know I was giving strength to everyone else here." I downcast my eyes as I continued, "I fear that we won't win. No; I _know_ we can't win. The Revival of the Elder Princess is almost complete, and there is not a damn thing we can do to stop it. We looked for help, and we looked towards the White Tower. We got no help because our help was murdered before he could. Everyone that tries to help us gets killed!"

I faced him, defeat and anger in my eyes as the tears flowed freely (I was also shouting at this point). "I cannot let others die! First it was Dr. X, and now it's Merlin! If we look for anymore help, they will die just as fast or before we get there. No one should have to suffer that terrible fate. Luma will die; I know it! For the sake of the Revival, Luma will suffer a terrible and gruesome death; just like the other before him had! Our plan is not going to work; everyone will die! If no one else has stopped them, why do we think we can? The only true heroes here are you and Peasley! The rest of us are misfits and runaways from the invasion! What chance do we have, Mario? It's my fault. I dragged everyone into this terrible mess. The Princesses will be killed, and the pain of losing Peach I can't even comprehend for you. No one will get out of this alive…no one…"

I shut my eyes, refusing to look at him. My voice was raw from screaming (and crying) at the top of my lungs. I turned away from him, knowing that he was waiting for me to look again. I didn't bother drying my face; I was still crying. I opened them slightly to try to find the handkerchief, and instead, I saw Daisy handing it to me.

I realized, there and then, that I had made a terrible mistake.

Softly, I brushed away a singer tear that started going down her cheek. She rested her hand on mine, and closed her eyes. More tears fell.

"And to make matters worse," I whispered to her, "I made you cry."

"No; everyone heard you." She responded looking at me. "Brian set anchor at Yoshi Island; it was the closest port. What you said shot through everyone. There was dead silence through the entire deck; even the birds stopped."

She bit her lip to not cry again.

"It first started as a fight for Luma, but then it got out of control." I whispered drying my own tears with the back of my hand.

She nodded. "Can I tell you something?"

I nodded.

"You said that we looked to you as a leader, right?" I nodded again, sadly. "We did, in part. We mainly looked to you for your positive outlook on this entire situation. You are the type of guy that, if something needs to get done, you get it done and done fast. There should be no reason to feel like you can't do anything; you have proven to many people that you are capable of doing things. I have to personally admit, there were times where I doubted you. You proved me wrong…you proved _everyone_ wrong. You were kidnapped by the Shroobs, and the only thing you were focused on was getting out. The good thing is that you focus on the objective, and not really how to get to that objective. That's what the rest of us are for. While you were gone, Luma always said WWMD: What Would Mama Do?"

I smiled at the thought of Luma shouting WWMD at everyone. Daisy continued on; explaining how my explosion helped everyone realize what truly was at stake. It was no longer a fight for one Luma, or a fight to save all the Lumas, either. This is a fight for everyone in the three Kingdoms. This was a fight to end all fights with the Shroobs (hopefully) and with Fawful. If any one of us stopped now due to the fear of failure, we _will_ fail. Too much is at risk here.

That's what frightened me the most.

I felt someone hug me from behind, and I turned slightly to see my brother. He smiled softly. I rested my hands on his.

"It's okay to be scared," He advised, "though it isn't always okay to show that fear. You are a very strong man, little brother. I know, deep inside, that Mom and Dad are proud of you."

The thought of my parents sent chills through me. I closed my eyes, remembering that small time I got to meet them. I reopened my eyes, nodding. Daisy smiled, and kissed me on the nose. Mario released me, and all three of us left the room and onto the deck. I went over to Brian, who was standing at the wheel fighting tears.

"Are you alright?" I asked him softly. There were a few moments before he shook his head. He looked at me, and his eyes were red. "Still looking for your lost treasure?"

"It is complicated." He whispered to me. "I have felt as lost as you have before, but I have always had Syrup with me to comfort me. Now…who do I turn to?"

"Me." He looked at me in bewilderment. "Rose. Wendy. Waluigi. Mario. Daisy. Rosalina. Peasley. The list goes on and on. We are your family now; well, until the end of this fight anyways. After this fight; I will help you find a stable home and a family…perhaps a job as well. You're not alone; remember that."

He smiled. "Thank you, Luigi; for everything." There was a slight pause. "I look up to you because of the positive energy that you give off. You get spooked easily, yes; but that is beside the point. You throw yourself out in front of other people in order for protection. I admire that a lot. I hope I get to be like you someday…" I blinked a few times. Never, in my life, has anyone told me that they wanted to be like me. They always referred to Mario and how great of a hero he is. "Let's travel to Mushroom Kingdom through Yoshi Island." He spoke standing up. "They will expect a water attack since we were in Flipside. We have no time to lose!"

Everyone on board nodded. This fight was going to be that hardest we had ever faced.


	24. Chapter 24

_Author's note: HAPPY NEW YEAR!_

* * *

We walked through the tropical paradise of Yoshi's Island like it was our job. We wasted no time…actually, we didn't really walk. We more power walked than anything else. The determination that everyone had in them drove us forward towards the battle. We made light talk along the way just to keep the mood somewhat light. The wind felt nice, and the Yoshis were eating the fruits as we passed them, really paying no mind to us. There is a small river that separates Yoshi Island and the Mushroom Kingdom. After buying tickets to ride the boat, we sailed across that river.

When everyone got off, the mood turned deathly grave. No one spoke as we weaved our way through the forested areas on the outskirts of Toad Town. Instead of walking through the town, we made our way around it, trying to stay out of sight of any Shroob guards that could possibly be lurking about.

"Wait a sec." Wendy whispered to us.

We all stopped and looked at her. She was pointing outside of the forested area. Specifically; she was pointing at two guards that were pointing lasers at a woman. Before anyone could say anything, Rose calmly walked out of the shelter. She gestured for Wendy to follow, and her sister obeyed. The two girls snuck up to the guards, and Rose disarmed them both at once; stabbing one with her blade and kicking the other one in Wendy's direction. Wendy held the guard still as Rose bashed that one's head in. They tossed the guards to the side like trash, and Rose knelt down to the woman. They talked for a couple minutes, and then the three of them returned to the shelter of the trees.

"Hello. Dr. Sofia X." I greeted the woman.

"Hello, Luigi." She responded hugging me. "Rose told me that you guys are in need of assistance?"

I looked at Rose, and she nodded. I also heard Mario explaining to Brian that the woman I was talking to was their mother.

"I guess so." I answered.

"Let's go to a place where we can talk in private." She paused, looking at me in the eye. "I think you know where I mean."

I nodded. The group reweaved through the forested area to the cave that connects Toad Town and Star Hill. Sofia spread out a blanket and we all sat down. Rose began telling the story of the Shroobs, and we all chipped in with our experiences with them. Her face completely drained when Wendy and I explained the revival of Mr. L and the plan to revive the Elder Princess.

"One problem;" I spoke lamely. "We have no plan on how to defeat them; let alone how to get there."

Sofia nodded, understanding. "It seems that you need to get in the Castle to defeat them. The issue with this idea is that you would be easily outnumbered."

"Do you think we can drive them out of the Castle?" Peach asked.

She shook her head. "It all depends where The Revival is actually taking place. They wouldn't want to leave when they are this close."

"Should we allow the Revival to happen?" Wendy asked. We all looked at her like she was insane. "My idea is this: L, the Princess and Fawful will be too caught up in the moment of the Revival. I was wondering if we could strike during that time."

"No." Rosalina suddenly belted. "The Lumas would already be killed by then."

I felt my face drain. Daisy placed her hand on mine softly, not really sure what she could do to help me. The thought of me being too late to save Luma… I closed my eyes, trying not to break down and cry at the thought. I heard Mario quickly fill Sofia in about Luma; and what the deadly trio planned on doing with the Lumas.

"The thing we need to figure out is where the Revival is taking place." Brian spoke softly. "We really can't do anything if we don't have a direct target."

"I think I remember something about the dungeons…" Mario recalled from his stay early on. "I don't understand why they would have it there, though. Wouldn't they want it to be a grand sight to see; where they tied people to posts and made people watch?"

I shook my head. Everyone fell silent.

"They wouldn't want to make a big deal out of it." I whispered opening my eyes partly. "They want to co-rule the big Kingdoms. If they do a grand release, their plans would be figured out. They want to keep the revival a secret so they can ambush the Kingdoms when they are the least prepared. That already happened with the Mushroom Kingdom. I believe that Beanbean is the last one they need to conquer. I have no idea about Sarasaland; I honestly don't want to think about it."

"Mama…"

I bolted up, but the hope was instantly crushed when I saw that the Luma was red not yellow. Tears flooded my eyes and I felt hopelessly lost. The Red Luma spoke to Rosalina softly, then it flew over to me.

"Luigi?" it asked me. I opened my eyes, and all I could see was a red blur due to the tears. I wiped them away, facing the red Luma. "My name is Bubba."

"Your sister was looking for you." I whispered to him.

"I know; we found each other and managed to escape, thanks to Luma."

"Luma…my Luma?"

The little guy nodded. "He was very brave; he managed to get us out. He is still working on releasing the others. I knew to look for you because he would always talk about his Mama Luigi." Tears filled my eyes again. "He's a real trooper and didn't follow orders at first. As far as I know, he is still disobeying the Shroobs. He's more worried about getting the others out other than himself."

"He learned that from his Mama." Mario spoke lightly.

"Where are they being held?" Sofia asked.

"Where?" Bubba asked. "Oh…umm…first it was the dungeons of the Mushroom Kingdom, but they had moved since then. They have moved so many times that I have lost track."

"Sounds like there is more than one station." Peasley mused.

"Where is Luma?" Wendy asked. "Luigi's Luma?"

"He is forced to stay with Mr. L." The silence that plagued the area was intoxicating. "As I mentioned earlier; Luma was uncooperative with them. After freeing the vast majority of us, Fawful got angry, threating him that Mama would be killed if he didn't do as he was told. Luma didn't believe him. That's why L came after you in Flipside; to prove to Luma that they weren't kidding. The mistake L made was that he _didn't _kill you as he had promised."

"And that is bad because…?" Brian asked.

Bubba smiled. "Well, Luma was not a happy Luma…not at all. He got angry and started shouting. The anger that he held managed to free the rest of us; he used Invincibility to break through the cages and set us all free.

"The bad thing is that he is still there. Since he is the only Luma that can use that kind of power without turning into a Star, comet or planet, Princess Shroob thinks that his power alone can revive her sister. They are keeping him under the strictest watch. If I remember correctly, the final part of the revival will be in the area between the Mushroom Kingdom and Beanbean."

"Where Luigi and I first fought them." Daisy said.

"We have no time to lose." Brian stood up. "If we wait, everything that Merlin taught us would mean nothing. All the abilities that we gained; all the friends and enemies we have come across…would mean absolutely nothing. We have to do this; there is no turning back now."

"For Luma." Bubba chirped.

"For the Kingdoms." Peach said.

"For freedom." Peasley added.

All of those things are important, yes. However, I feel that I have a stronger reason to fight; not for the Kingdoms, freedom or Luma. Everyone started to gather their things and started to file out. I was the last person to leave. Before I did, I faced the interior of the cave, its eerie blue light casting shadows across the walls.

"For the end." I spoke into the cave. "The end of this nightmare, the end of all nightmares. To end all the pain and suffering the monsters have made us. The pain and suffering needs to end. For life, for death, for peace…for love."

I turned and left, preparing to lead my team into war.

As Bubba had said; the three of them were in the areas between the two kingdoms. What looked like a pedestal sat a creepy looking statue of the Elder Princess. She was in her normal form; so there were no extra arms or legs. Her younger sister was pacing back and forth, a look of fear and concentration locked on her face. Fawful was scurrying around; making sure everything was in place. L was sitting in a chair, not paying much attention to what was going on. Luma was in a cage next to him, sitting on the floor and not facing them (or us). The clouds were growing darker and the distant sound of thunder shattered the otherwise silent scene.

"So, we all know the plan?" Wendy asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Let's waste no more time."

I took a deep breath, and walked out of the shelter of the trees towards them. No one really seemed to take much notice of me until I was fairly close. Fawful spun around, and we made eye contact. He laughed a long drawn-out laugh, which caused everyone to look at me.

"Well, look who decided to show his face after all." L hissed as he stood up. "What are you here for, anyways?"

"I think you know exactly what I am after." I responded hatred filling my voice.


	25. Chapter 25

_Author Note: This is the second-to-last chapter. Also, take a look at my profile; there have been some major changes :)_

* * *

"You're too late." He approached me and started to walk circles around me. "Do you know what time it is?"

"…Adventure time?"

He smacked me upside the head. "This is no time for jokes! I'm _dead_ serious."

"Well, you should be 'dead' serious. I killed you already."

I could see the color in his eyes darken, almost turning black. "Well, aren't we a smart-ass?" I didn't answer. "There is no time for this nonsense! Fawful; aren't we ready yet?"

"The dressing is on the salad of the elder Princess's revival." He spoke.

….shit

L smirked at me. "Looks like you are too late, _Mother dearest_, to save your pathetic little Luma! There is nothing you can do now!"

"You know; you could always give him back."

His face read confusion. "Wait…what?"

"I said: you can always give him back. Luma may be pathetic and useless to you, but he is not to me. He is everything to me. So, if he has no value to you, you might as well give him back. Make sense?"

"Enough! We end this _now!_"

"Wait, L." Princess Shroob cut him off. "Let's…do what we came here to do. We are all ready now."

L smirked at me, and turned to fetch Luma. He stopped dead in his tracks. How much I wish that I could have seen his face. The cage Luma was in was gone, and in its place was Bubba. He was floating there, minding his own business. Suddenly everything came to life. Brian and Wendy started disconnecting everything, Mario and Peasley took on Fawful, and the rest (minus the Queen) took on the Shroobs and their Princess. That left me to deal with Mr. L.

He faced me, anger and frustration breaking his calm composure. He tore off his eye mask, and his eyes became black with rage. The shout that came from him was inhumane, and the world around me burst into black and green flames. The heat was intense, and I found myself throwing fire at him. He dodged each one with ease as he approached me. Gently he raised his arms towards me, and streaks of black lightning emitted from it. I fell backwards, dodging the lightning in the process. He walked over towards me, and I couldn't escape; the fire was too intense behind me and L was standing in front of me. Calmly, he stepped on my wrists, preventing me from moving or using any of my magic. The flames died, and I was forced to look into his soulless black eyes. He fell to his knees (still pinning me) and without a change of expression, pulled out a long, thin dagger. The blade was blood-red and its light danced in a satanic-like glee. I knew that he was just milking the time so he could enjoy the slow painful death he was going to give me.

"I have waited _too_ long for this moment." His voice was no longer his own; it was deep and malicious. "Your soul will be perfect for the Revival."

Silence filled the area. I noticed that all the fighting had stopped once the black flames dissipated. The wind picked up, stronger than usual, and I knew what was going on. Before anything else happened, I watched in slow-motion terror as the crimson red blade in his hand sliced through the air, aiming for my heart.

Instead of a scream of pain, a clank of metal followed as soon as the blade touched me. There was a moment of pure silence; nothing was moving, nothing was happening at all. His eyes started fading back to blue, and the only thing different was that they were also filled with confusion. Suddenly, Luma flew in between us. He faced L, blew raspberries at him and flew away. Along the way, he took his hat, laughing in wicked glee along the way. While he was distracted, I managed to throw him off of me with a blast of electricity of my own. As soon as I stood up, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped dramatically. It was the middle of summer and it started to snow. Despite the snow, vines grew from the ground, wrapping and cocooning L. his eyes began to turn black again as he fought against his prison. The wind continued, picking up in speed. The snow also increased, the both of them showing no mercy. It took a few tries, but L managed to break out of his vine trap. He wasn't slow in approaching me this time. He charged head on at me. We locked our hands, forcing fire onto one another. The sounds of fighting echoed around us.

Repeatedly, L tried and tried again to stab me with the blade. Each time it only cut a hole in my shirt, the metal chest plate deflecting each deadly blow. It had gotten to a point where he was swinging it like a madman, and the only thing I could do was dodge his attacks. His eyes were black again, and blood trickled down the side of his face due to a good hit from me a few minutes back. While I was dodging his knife, somehow he managed to release a powerful fire attack, hitting its target. I was sent flying back, landing on my back a few feet away. Before I could stand again, he pounced on me, hissing in hatred in the process. He placed the knife under my chin, wasting no time. He screamed in rage as a wall of ice knocked him off of me. Jumping up, I shouted my thanks to Wendy, who nodded before firing another ice storm at her targets.

L stood back up, wincing in pain in the process. He faced me, and gritted his teeth before giving out another battle cry. Another fire circle was cast, but it was so close to me that I couldn't move. If I took a step in any direction, I would be completely roasted alive. The ring contracted at an alarming speed, and I could feel my skin burning (like when you are too close to a flame, not literally on fire) and I started to panic. L belted a truly horrific laugh; filled with revenge and delight. He released another ring of fire, preventing anyone to get close to me.

Is this how it's going to end?

"Try to get out of that one!" he shouted in pride. "No one can save you now!"

I tried to conjure my own flames to counter his, but I only got electricity. More panic flooded me as I tried again, but I only electrocuted myself. I closed my eyes, trying with all my heart to get some sort of counter-flame, but nothing happened. Hot tears flooded my eyes and burned them as they made their trail down my face. I opened my eyes, and stared in awe at the large, red flame that was dancing wild and free. Over the roar of the flames, I could hear Mario's cry of war as his flames bathed the area. Some of them went directly to me, sheltering me from the heat of the green flames and healing me in the process. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm my shaky nerves down. After a few terrifying moments, I managed to get a grip of myself, and released a small flame of my own, telling Mario that he could extinguish his. They slowly died out, and we both had our flames dancing freely around us.

I turned to Rose, and winked at her. Smiling a wicked smile, she winked back, and summoned a small whirlwind. I starting throwing flames into it, and Mario followed suit. As the tornado of fire increased, I caught a glimpse of fear in Princess Shroob's eyes. Still throwing flames, I made my way towards Rose. Mario countered my walking, making sure we kept an equal distance away from each other so that one power would not overwhelm the other.

"Aim for the pedestal." I spoke calmly. "We need to destroy that statue."

She nodded, and slowly started walking the wind. Mario and I walked alongside it, adding more flames. As soon as we got close, both of us stopped adding flames. In sync, we jumped back as the tornado of fire hit the pedestal, not only destroying the statue but frying everything else that was in its path. There was dead silence as Princess Shroob, Fawful and L watched in horror at their project. I knelt down on one knee, resting. Luma flew next to me, telling me not to rest yet because the 'bad guys' weren't dead yet. I stood back up, and Luma sat on my shoulder. We both watched the flames eat and destroy everything it came into contact with. Waluigi summoned a small rainstorm, and put the flames out, revealing the damage the flames had done.

"What have you done!?" the Princess screamed in rage. "You…you _murderers_!"

"You shouldn't be talking." Rosalina spoke. "Look what you did to the Lumas."

"Oh, come on; none of them were hurt. My sister's heart was beating, and you killed her! She didn't have a chance!"

"Lie." Luma spoke softly.

I turned to him, and noticed that he was crying. Before I could ask him what was wrong, he flew up to Fawful.

"Where Luma's friends?" he asked softly. "What happen?"

The smiling bean character said nothing. He turned away, not making eye contact with Luma. He followed his face, and made Fawful look at him.

"Where?" his little voice demanded.

"You set them free." He answered.

Luma shook his body. "Others. Where others?"

I knew the tactic Luma was using; he was going to pester Fawful about it until he confessed true. We could be here all night.

"Mr. Smiley Man murderer, not Mama." Luma spoke loud enough for all of us to hear. "Smiley Man know it. Mean. Hurt Luma's friends. They ask not to, but no listen. Suffer; Smiley Man laugh at Lumas, make them cry. They wanted their Mama, but Fake Mama no let them. Fake Mama hit and hurt Lumas more."

"Shut up!" L shouted at him.

Luma flew straight to his face. "Not nice shouting. Luma finish first." He then flew to the Princess. "Evil Purple Princess laughed at Lumas crying. All thee do; laugh at Lumas crying. Hundred Stars, Smiley Man keep saying. Hundred Stars. Hundred Stars. Hundred Stars to bring back Princess's sister." He started crying, and he was shouting at this point. "Hundred Stars. No, Hundred Lumas. Hundred Lumas. Fake Mama hurt Hundred Lumas. Those Lumas never come back. Fake Mama the murderer. Hundred Lumas…murdered…for Princess's Sister. Why?"

He flew straight to me, bawling in the process. I held him tightly, kissing the top of his head and whispering to him that he was safe. He looked at me, whispered 'thanks' and hid under my hat. I made flames appear in my hands, and got ready to fight, but put them away when I noticed that they had vanished. I walked over to Brian, who was soothing Rosalina.

"Where did they go?" I asked.

He shrugged. "They vanished after Luma went on his rant about the others."

"We shouldn't let our guard down, but we should rest while we can."

He nodded, agreeing. I walked over to Peasley, and checked on him. After checking that everyone was alright, I found a fairly large rock. I sat down on it, and tapped my hat softly. Luma flew out, carrying my hat with him. He started to cry again as I held him. I hummed my mother's lullaby quietly to him. We sat there together for a few minutes before Mario and Waluigi came over. Luma looked at them, his little body covered in his tiny tears. Mario sat next to me, and Waluigi knelt down to his height in front of me. Slowly, he lifted the tears off of him with his magic. I felt a smile form when I realized what he was doing. Poor Luma was confused, and he watched Waluigi and the water he was controlling in interest. Slowly, the water blob that was floating in mid-air started to morph and change shape. I groaned in frustration and Mario laughed as the water was shaped into an unmistakable form.

"What Tall Purple Man doing?" Luma asked.

"Cheers to your mustache!" Water Peasley spoke. "Luma, you have grown so!"

"No; you small. Luma same size."

"Really? That's quite a problem." Water Peasley flipped his hair. "It seems that my shine has gone as well."

"Luma do shine for Princely Water Bean Man."

Water Peasley flipped his hair, and Luma glowed bright for a few seconds. "That's what I call a TRUE shine!"

Luma laughed as the shape dissipated. It took a few minutes, but a replica of me was floating in front of Luma.

"Mama?" Luma asked. "Why Mama so small?"

"Why me?" I asked.

Slowly, the form started changing. The first thing that changed was that there was now a face veil where my nose and mustache used to be.

Heaven help me.

The transformation was complete, and Water Luigi was wearing the outfit I wore when I infiltrated the Mushroom Kingdom castle.

"Pretty, Mama." Luma purred.

The Water Luigi danced for a little bit, then dissolved.

"Thanks for sparing him." I spoke lightly

"Now for the crowd favorite." Waluigi gave off a wicked smile.

The water morphed into a floating Wario head. The look on Mario's face was priceless when Wario started mooing.

"Cow." Luma spoke. "Moooooo…"

After mooing for a few minutes, the water returned to a blob form, and was placed on the ground. Luma thanked Waluigi, and started happily munching on a cookie I had in my pocket. I knew that he was still upset with what happened to the other Lumas, but what can we do about it now? I kissed the top of his little head, and he moved to sit on top of my head. I approached the rest of the group. Before we could do anything, a laugh broke the silence.

Fawful reappeared in a flash of blinding light. He was accompanied with Shroobs and Mr. L. Princess Shroob came from behind us with more minions at her command.

"Give us Luma." L spoke approaching me. "And no one gets hurt."

"Not on my life!" I hissed back at him.

He shrugged. "That's fine with me."

In sync, all the Shroobs pulled out their lasers. Before anything happened, a wall of ice encompassed us, deflecting all of the shots. Waluigi and I held hands, blending our power. As soon as the wall fell, we attacked, wiping out a good chunk of the Shroobs. I saw Daisy shooting vines at them, and Mario igniting the plants. Using her wind power, Rose launched Peasley in the air, and he started throwing mini-daggers like some sort of ninja. Between all of us, we managed to destroy the minions, only leaving the Princess, Fawful and L. L stepped in front of them, flames dancing in his hands.

"You can destroy our plans, but I won't let you destroy them!" he screamed.

Mario stepped in front of us all.

"No; we won't destroy them." He stated calmly. Fear engulfed L's eyes. Mario walked up to him, inches away from his face. "I know _exactly _what we are going to do with them."

Not waiting for a response, Mario punched L straight in the face, sending him back towards the others. Peasley and Brian walked towards them, and the each grabbed one of the two leaders. Daisy used the plants to tie their legs to the ground, preventing them from running away. Calmly, he walked up to Fawful and Peasley.

"Peasley; I will leave him with you. I'm sure he has caused your Kingdom more trouble than Princess Shroob."

He nodded, summoned his flying Bean, and they flew off without another word.

"And for you…" Mario faced Princess Shroob. "What to do with you?"

I never really heard what her fate was. I noticed that L was trying to sneak away, so I bolted after him. He broke out into a run, but I was faster. I tackled him, pinning him to the ground in the process. My knees were on his legs, one hand was holding both of his, and the other was pinning his head against the stone ground. He started sobbing, complaining about how I was hurting him. Mario's Star flew over, danced in a circle around my head, and faced L. Its light faded to almost nothing, and I turned away and closed my eyes. I still saw the bright light from under my eyelids. L screamed a terrible wail, but it slowly faded to a moan and finally silence. He relaxed under me and his hands grew cold under mine. I stood up slowly, backing away from him.

"What do we do with him?" I asked Mario as he came up from behind me.

"We have to make sure we dispose of him properly." He responded his tone grave. "And make sure he _won't _come back to life."

After debating a few minutes with everyone else, it was decided. Mario and Brian disposed of his body by dumping it into one of the lava pits at Bowser Land.

It was over…it was finally all over.


	26. Chapter 26

It had been a long time since I had been in Toad Town when it was as lively as it was. The people were hustling and bustling through the streets, minding their own business and making small talk with the people they were talking to. It had been about a week since we rid of the Shroobs and their leaders. I have no idea how Fawful suffered his fate, but I know that the Princess was burned alive with the contact of Baby's Tears. According to Mario (I didn't go), her skin appeared to be allergic to its contact. So they dumped an entire crate on her, and she melted, suffering a terrible fate. I was walking through the heart of town, and saw the Toad Town Hospital stand tall and proud over the people in the city. There were a good number of people that filtered in and out of the building, so I guess they had business.

I walked in, and instead of going to the front desk, I sat down in the waiting room, and pulled out my phone.

_I'm here. _I texted to Rose.

A few minutes later, Rose came out of the patient rooms. She smiled and we hugged for a second or two.

"How are you doing?" I asked her as I held her shoulders.

"Fine, fine, and you?" she responded holding my hands.

"Excellent. Daisy and I went on a few more dates, and I think something may be happening in the future."

Her eyes widened in excitement. "Do I need to encourage you?"

I shook my head. "I got it planned out already. What about the thing _you _had planned?"

Her happiness dissolved. "You had to remind me, didn't you?"

I nodded. "She needs to know, Rose; it would be dreadful if she found out on her own."

Rose nodded, agreeing. "Let's wait until close; we're closing early due to the Winter Pageant."

So I waited outside of the hospital. After sitting down on one of the stone benches, Luma popped out of my hat. He started dancing around my head, taking my hat with him. Every time we got in my line of vision, he would be doing something different. First he was doing a disco, and the next time around he was shuffling in the air. Another time he was just spinning in circles, singing 'wee' as we went by. Suddenly he shot up to the sky. I followed him with my eyes, and I watched him hug someone who was standing in the air. I smiled lightly as Peasley came floating down on his flying bean.

"Mama." Luma purred with happiness. "Mr. Princely Bean Man here."

"It's good to see you, Luigi." He greeted as I tilted my head in respect. "Am I too late; or has she told her mother yet?"

I shook my head. "She's not wanting to; I can tell. That's why I got in contact with you; she needs all the encouragement she can get. This is not something that can be easily pulled off."

He nodded, agreeing. "I also got in contact with Brian; he was in town when I got your letter. He said that he would join us before paying respects to his mother. I don't think Rosalina will be joining us; I haven't heard anything from her yet."

Peasley sat down next to me, and we chatted about the things that had occurred over the past week. Casually, he pulled out a cookie and handed it to Luma, who took it and started munching away in glee. Peasley explained that Fawful was put on trial for not only the recent crimes he committed, but also ones that date back to years and years ago. Apparently this wasn't his first (or second) attempt to overthrow the Royal Family. In the final reading; he was sentenced to life imprisonment in a remote prison that I had never heard of before. The good thing was that the prison was nowhere near Beanbean or any of the other major Kingdoms. I told Peasley about the fate of Princess Shroob, and he nodded solemnly.

"It's a terrible fate to suffer, and I would not wish it on a soul." He pulled out a yellow rose and looked at it. "I didn't dare voice my distaste on the cruel punishment of Fawful; it was what the people wanted. It is also what is best for them."

Luma dropped a red rose on Peasley's lap. "Looks better; yellow not compliment green."

I laughed, and Peasley snickered slightly. Rose walked out of the hospital, her mother behind her. Rose informed us that we were going to talk in the Starlight Cave; the cave that connects Star Hill and Toad Town. Wendy joined us as well; her face softened by sadness. She also carried a few boxes of tissues. The walk was not too bad; the wind felt nice and it was gentle. We met Waluigi there, who prevented a storm from coming until we got to the cave. The cave was all aglow with the Star Crystals glistening in their own little sacred grove. The entrance opened up, and there was a picnic blanket already spread out. The sound of the storm echoed through the chambers as we as we sat down on the blanket.

"I thought I could help out." Waluigi spoke softly.

"I appreciate it." Wendy hugged him slightly and they held hands.

They're cute together; cute in their own, awkward way.

Rose sat her mother down, and took a deep breath. She looked her in the eye, and started talking. She didn't stop; there was no time for her mother to try and ask questions. I realized that Rose was getting the hard part over with before the other news. She ranted about the adventure we just got finished with, and her mother nodded each time Rose asked if it made sense. After telling the fate of L, Peasley entered in the conversation. He explained the trial that Fawful went through, and what his fate was. Waluigi explained Princess Shroob's fate, and then there was dead silence. I saw Rose's hands begin to shake, and I held them in reassurance.

"Mother." she looked up at her after a few minutes of silence. "Do you know where Father is?"

She shook her head, confusion etched onto her face and eyes. The bridge of Rose's nose began to turn red, and Wendy handed her a tissue. She hastily wiped her forming tears away. Wendy set a box in between them, not making any sort of eye contact.

"Rosette…" her mother whispered.

"Mom." I watched as Sofia's eyes grew in terror. "Something happened that you need to know about; something important. I know that you told me not to get involved with this mess; the fight for justice from Fawful and the others. I had a personal reason to fight, however. It wasn't just because the world was in danger; it wasn't just because our Kingdom got overthrown and we were almost enslaved. It was a different matter entirely."

"Same with me." Wendy whispered.

Between the two sisters, they told Sofia the fate of Derik. Everything from the Dark Seed planted in me to the birth and to the final deadly blow that he received. I added that Mario didn't let Derik suffer; telling her that he used his Star to relax him and have him fall asleep. She wasn't angry with us; she really didn't have a reaction for a few minutes. Her eyes slightly watered, but she pushed them back. I recognized the look on her face; it was a face of fighting emotion. Mario used it when our Mom died. It was that straight face of inner turmoil; knowing that they had to be strong for the people who couldn't be. The two sisters and their mother held each other for a few moments, and then separated. I felt my eyes water, and I had to turn away (curse my sensitivity) to prevent myself from crying out loud. Luma flew in my line of vision and danced a funky dance, causing me to smile. When I faced them again, I saw Waluigi introducing himself to Sofia while he was holding Wendy's hand. Footfalls from behind me made me jump.

"Didn't mean to startle you." Brian spoke softly. "Did I miss anything?"

"Rose telling her mom what happened to her dad." I answered. "And now Waluigi is introducing himself to her as well as explaining their relationship. Other than that, not much."

Brian walked towards Rose, and gently embraced her. Like it was instinct, she closed her eyes and leaned against him. He wiped some tears away, and gently kissed the top of her head. I had a slight pang of guilt watching that; it wasn't that I felt embarrassed watching them together, not at all. It was that Rose and I used to have that strong of a connection.

_Used to._

But, I'm not angry at her (or myself) for what happened between us. Different events caused different results, and one of those events was the discussion we had a few years ago. We decided that it was best to not get into a serious relationship and just stay friends. I'm happy for them now; I'm glad they found each other (even if it was on a pirate ship). Besides, I found Daisy; she is my Rose.

After introducing himself to Sofia, Brian asked if we wanted to join him in respecting his deceased mother. I nodded, agreeing and Rose whispered that she would. So it was just the three of us; Waluigi wanted to make sure Sofia was okay with him dating her eldest daughter. Before we left, he cast a spell, causing the storm to lift for a few minutes. We walked out of the cave and headed west. The breeze was dead, but suddenly it picked up. I looked at Rose, and she winked at me. She was now just holding Brian's hand, a smile on her face and eyes.

We got out of the heart of the city in a few minutes. Out in the plains was a lone, evergreen tree. Brian whispered that that was where his mother was buried. The mood shifted as we approached the tree. My heart caught in my throat as I thought about my Mom and when I met her under the Weeping Willow. Brian froze, and Rose and I looked at him confused. Following his eyesight, we saw another figure at the base of the tree. Rose let go of him, and he crept towards the person, drawing his blade. Rose took it from him, shooting a glare at him in the process. After rolling his eyes, Brian put away his blade, and continued up the hill.

It hit me who it was. I ran up to Brian, rested a hand on his shoulder, and told him to wait. He nodded, and I continued up the hill at my own walking speed. Sitting at the base of the tree, reading a book to a tiny green Luma was Rosalina. Luma flew out of my hat, and sat in front of her feet, listening to her story. A few minutes passed before she glanced up and noticed me. She smiled softly, and continued to read to the Lumas. Brian and Rose were behind me, listening to the story. When it ended, she closed the book and looked up at us.

"Good story, Mama." The tiny green Luma chirped.

"Thank you, little one." She patted him on the head with a forefinger. "Go on back to the ship; Mama will meet you there soon." He flew away, and she made eye contact with Brian. "I thought you went back to being a pirate."

He shook his head. "I have to do something first."

"Which is…?"

"Something personal." He responded pulling a golden pocket watch out of his pocket. "Excuse me, please."

Wow…I didn't know he had manners. Guess that's what happens when you hang with Rose too much.

Rosalina stood up and stepped to the side, confused. Brian knelt down where Rosalina was sitting, pulled out a small knife (smaller than the one he pulled out earlier) and started carving into the tree. Rosalina was about to throw a fit, but I cut her off. After a few minutes, he set his knife into the dirt, pulling some of the grass out of it. After digging a small hole, he set the pocket watch into it, and buried it. He kept his hand on the small mound of dirt.

"It's not much." He spoke to the carving in the tree. "It never was much. I remember that day; the day it was stolen. I promised you that I would bring it back. I was a tyke then, and you wouldn't let me go after the pirates who took it from you."

Rosalina's eyes widened in horror. Brian moved his hand on to the carving he made.

"But, I'm no tyke now." He continued. "I searched for years to find that precious item that was stolen from you. I never knew how valuable it was until now. It's coin value is useless to smugglers, but to you it was priceless. It took me a few more years than I would have liked, but I finally fulfilled my promise to you. I'm sorry you had to wait so long. I can imagine your gentle face lighting up in happiness. I can also see the anger in them; the ones you would give me when my sister and I got into trouble; mainly me. I miss you…that's all there is to it. If there was a way to bring you back, I would. I love you; you made me the man I am today. Under the strong, pirate, Syrup's-right-hand-man reputation I build for myself; the little boy who was always hungry for adventure still lies in my heart."

He tiled his head towards the grounds, his words lost in the tears he was shedding. He stood up after a few moments, tearing off the bandana that was on his head to clear his eyes. I never noticed that his hair was platinum blonde until he took off his navy blue bandana.

Wait…platinum blonde.

"Brain." Rosalina spoke softly. "Can I ask you something?"

He faced her, putting his bandana back on.

"Your sister's stuffed animal: what was it and what was its name?"

"A pink bunny rabbit." Brian answered closing his eyes, deep in thought. He faced Rosalina after a few seconds. "His name was Tootsie. Why?"

I watched Brian's eyes widen in amazement as Rosalina brought out a small, pink bunny rabbit with floppy ears. There was a moment of dead silence and realization. Rosalina started to cry; Brian walked over to her, placing his hand against her face.

"It's my job to cry, sis." He whispered as tears filled his eyes. "I'm the baby brother."

They embraced each other, and stood there, quietly sobbing in happiness. Deciding to leave the two of them alone, I walked away from the scene; heading back home. If someone looked at me from where the reunited siblings were; it would have looked like I was walking into the sunset, like one of those heroes in the closing of a hero story or movie. In a way; I am a hero. Luma popped out of my hat, and sat on my shoulder.

"Mama?" he asked. "Where we going?"

"Home." I answered softly. "Back to where we belong."

Luma nodded, and floated next to me, spinning once in a while. I sighed a sigh of relief; a perfect closing to one hell of an adventure.


End file.
